Sometimes When You Win You Lose
by The Armour Of Romulus
Summary: AU modern Britain. Ymir is a young "man" playing an illegal game of poker with Krista's father, Ymir is seeking to win the game but also the services of young Krista. Smut (chapter 2), dark themes trigger warnings (prostitution,gambling,drinking,abuse,organised crime,sexual assault) eventual yumikuri (non-futa) OOC
1. Chapter 1 - Fold The Cards (and forfeit)

**Authors Note: Just wanted to add a note before you guys delve into the twisted depths of this story. **

**1)Very messed up and dark story.**

 **2) Not fluffy (or at least explicitly)**

 **3) Characters are Out Of Character, the reason for this is that i wanted them to seem believable as if their history and the situation they're in has effected their personalities rather than classic Ymir and Historia happening to be the same even though their surroundings would royally mess them up.**

 **4) If you're starting to think that nothing good is going to happen, it gets better in chapter 15, it's when the more obvious relationship starts.**

 **Enjoy?**

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College was the same shit different day on repeat, like that song you once loved so much and how it became a haunting gathering of words and hallowing sounds in some sort of butchery of a fleeting emotion called love. College started as some newfound freedom for Krista, her high school experience was subpar in comparison to the majority's hatred of it.

High school was the starting point for all her quarrels: drunkard father, controlling mother dying in front of her, slit her wrists wide open as Krista opened her birthday presents age 12, acting as her father's friend's personal whore leading onto drugs and drink being forced into her system because she "performed" better. As soon as she waved her final goodbyes to the buildings she visited daily for 5 years of her life, a new opportunity to better herself arose from the ashes of her tainted school uniform.

When results day for her GCSEs arrived, she was given a small reprieve from her so called holiday which was full of endless hours of "work" for her father's friends. She got the morning off to prove to her father she was a "smart little whore". Despite the awful situation she endured for the past 5 years, Krista was the studious type. She never wanted her life to interfere with her pursuit of academics and aspirations to work as a clinical psychologist.

Needless to say she got a litter of A's and A*'s, which was to be expected as school was the only time she got to be safe from her father and his way of income. Every second of the school day she had her head in a book or some other form of knowledge giver: science magazines, dictionaries, language course manuals. She quickly gathered the nickname Matilda due to her rigorous study efforts, always in the library, always working but always on her own, parents never turned up to parents evening to celebrate her success. All that really mattered to the Lenz family was their daughter's income and popularity amongst her father's, Rod's, friends. Her loneliness at the beginning was standard, almost felt mandatory, but towards the end of her experience the nights became rougher and the bruises and split lips became more permanent than temporary with an accumulation of emotions forming a reservoir of pure despair. She craved to feel something new, to have someone to lean on, so she didn't have to always stand on her own against the barrage of pain and torture she was exposed to nightly.

Darkening clouds plastered the bleak sky as Krista returned home in the rain, her blonde hair drunk from the water, letting its drink spill onto her pale face, clinging to her jaw line and curtaining her bruised neck. The damp cloth stuck to her small frame outlining what the men liked about her but her courage to continue was revealed, even subtly. It only took a glance at this girl in the rain, humming a repeating tune to herself, to understand where in this world she stood. She was used and abused but defiant as she clung to her knowledge, her record of her power over facts and ease of manipulation of the words she could choke out behind a tightening fist. When she turned the corner of her street the stench of alcohol drowned her senses; her father started early. The street was in a state of disarray: wheelie bins toppled over in gardens, dogs chained outside with no shelter, potholes deep enough to drown in. It was _that_ sort of neighbourhood, the one where you would find a young girl on the corner of the street when the city darkens and the fiddlers come out to play their tune. It just happened to be that the young girl on the corner of the street was Krista.

The smell got worse as she grew closer to home, closer to her father. The house was small, even for two, falling down, grey and dilapidated with the plaster falling off the hallway walls. As soon as her key hit the lock, her father was yelling at her. Slicking her hair back, she wandered into the room which her father and his friends occupied. Today was poker night, well, it was more of a whole day and night deal but details details. The birch table was littered with playing cards, chips, and vodka but every pair of eyes were like javelins, all aimed at Krista's soaked form. All she was ever seen as was a piece of meat, property which could be bought and sold like common commodities in some sort of twisted, testosterone-fuelled trading market. She was unfortunately the apple of most of her father's friends' eyes, some of their sons' too.

"Come on over sweetie, new comers are over and we want to make a good impression" rang the familiar words of her all-knowing father. She knew how she was supposed to respond, how to walk over, how to lean into the table to reveal her arse and breasts, but she still had that piece of paper in her grasp.

Her only weapon.

By no means was she daring enough to confront her father or his friends. She didn't think she had the courage to hold onto that piece of paper much longer, as if she were holding a grenade in her hand and at any moment it would consume her in a blaze of fire. So Krista returned to complying with her father, she slid her results paper down the back of the sofa near the doorway and did what she knew to do; swaying her hips more than usual, allowing her clothing to stick to her curves, to allow the drips of water to trace her jaw line, run past her lip, and catch the ones that the mens' eyes traced.

As she sauntered over, a pair of eyes were averted, more intent on playing the game of poker than poke-her. The heat of the missing eyes diverted onto the table, to the deck of cards yet to be played. Krista took interest into this boy: shaggy hair, brown, lanky fella who was slouched into the chair a little too much to be comfortable, wasn't old enough to grow more than baby fluff for facial hair.

Krista reached her father's chair at the head of the poker table, leaning into the table to keep the rain sliding from her jaw to her chin and onto the table, her father knew the routine and cracked a smirk. "I'm sure you've noticed my new friends, Harold and his son, young lad's called… er. What's your name boyo?" Krista's father knew this call for response was to remove the boy's eyes from the deck. Krista knew that the boy was trying to count the cards, so did her father, but the monetary income from him must have been large enough for father to not kick off. "Ymir" the young lad replied, eyes not moving to inspect the origin of the inquisitive voice. However, they were soon to be moved by a swift shunt by his father's elbow burying itself into his gut. His eyes snapped to where they were supposed to be as he quickly added a "sir" to the end of his reply. His shoulders hunched up quickly enough and he sat up straighter and his eye met Krista's.

End game.

That eye contact sealed the nonverbal agreement between her and this boy. Her father would want her to let him do whatever he wanted to her form, and she was going to let him. That eye-to-eye glance was the contract and the 'bashful' glance from the blonde to her father for instruction meant Krista in return sealed the deal, signature on the dotted line.

Her father's hand landed on her lower spine, adding a little force in the direction of Ymir, signalling her to approach the young man.

Harold was sat opposite her father, he was a rather big man, close to 18 stone with little hair on his head, mid 50s. He looked rather intently at his cards and then at Krista as she approached his son next to him.

As she worked her way round the table she made sure to caress the table with her fingertips, gently playing with the chips as they met her hands, stopping to fiddle with them, inspect them then continue onward. When she circled the table she encountered Harold first, flattening out his collar as she passed him to meet his son. Feeling him tense up from her touch, she made it more gentle and emphasised her flirtatious intent, forcing her hands to touch his skin, to dance upon it leaving him wanting more but she wasn't told to entertain him; she was contracted to be the night's enjoyment for the young man.

Ymir's eyes were still fixated upon his cards, taking no notice of the young little thing approaching him with a brooding and unadulterated look plastered on her face, he seemed more interested in winning this game as if his honour depended on it. Krista slowed her pace, taking her time approaching the man, analysing his movements, his eye patterns, his facial expression, but he seemed almost unreadable. From what he gave away he seemed experienced, far more knowledge of game strategy than someone of his age should possess. He knew his way around a deck of cards as well as a gun?

Her eyes flickered to his fingertips as they toyed with the fraying edges of the two aces he held. Residue from gunpowder as well as callouses where the trigger would lie. Krista had been with several goons before, all were unpredictable, very odd tastes, and mostly a lot rougher with her than the usual customer. Upon this discovery she was taken aback, albeit only a small one, leading her to seem more like a doe caught in the headlights. It was at this time that she was thankful that no one was looking at her face, with eyes only focused upon their cards or her chest, but Ymir made one small glance to her face from behind his cards which exposed a slither of his thinking. She gathered that he knew that he was going to win, and from what was on the table he had won a lot of chips and this almost definitely would be reflected after their 'session' as her father would blame her for the loss and force her to work some awful jobs to earn the lost money back.

She knew her father's cards, she also knew Harold's from the quick glance she snuck, and she knew what would happen next if she didn't speed up the process, force Ymir to fold and move to her bedroom. She eventually reached Ymir whose eyes had returned to the cards in his hand, still giving no response when her hands surrounded his neck, encircling it in preparation to mount his lap. As Krista began to sit on his lap he placed his cards on the table to free his hands to support her back and to cup her cheek, the other grabbing her jawline and forcing her to look him in the eye. Ymir's features seemed softer up close, more youthful and feminine. The supporting hand slid down her spine, putting pressure on the vertebrae, feeling the curvature of her spine, feeling any muscle contraction that occurred, sensing how Krista felt about where she was and what was going to happen. Ymir was boring into Krista and both her and her father were painfully aware of it, her father hopeful he liked her enough to take her to her room and have her all the ways he wanted the girl, Krista hopeful that he didn't win the game of poker and was nice enough to her body but she doubted it.

At the beginning of everything she leant to remain hopeful, hope for the best but plan for the worse, she learnt after all these years of being exploited to expect the worse and that's it. Ymir's hand lazily made its way lower, cupping her rear end and disengaged the eye contact, moving to pick up his cards and resume the game. It was at this moment that Krista's adrenaline kicked in, making her more daring than usual leading to her leaning into Ymir, placing her hand on his chest, drawing patterns on it and moving her mouth closer to Ymir's right ear. "My room is just upstairs, I don't think I can keep this cool and collected head on much longer if you keep looking at me like that" she whispered into his ear, just loud enough to be heard, just enough to tickle his neck. After her comment Ymir nudged her with his jaw, as if telling her to not tempt the beast but she wanted to get what needed to be done over with so she took his earlobe into her mouth, giving it a strong suck which she could tell sent a shiver down the young lad's spine.

Rod had seen this routine before, Krista was well acquainted at dealing with similar customers, ones who could be very powerful over her father and her. The routine was always the same in these situations, the responses start with a small fire lighting in their eyes, she builds the fire, throwing more wood on the pyre, then the killing blow, pours gasoline all over the wood and lets the customers will erupt the pile into a violent bonfire. She could see the fire in Ymir's eyes, but there was something more this time, it wasn't the start of a fire, this one seemed old and ruthless. Ymir straightened, as if given a confidence boost, the opposite result from what Krista wanted to happen, similarly with Rod.

Ymir reciprocated what Krista did, he leant in, moving for her neck, placing a small kiss in the crook of it, squeezing her rear. He grabbed his cards and handed them to Krista, forcing her to take his turn, evidentially he had this planned all along and knew the game the girl was playing with him.

Krista's eyes blew out, knowing what she had to do but she was damned if she did, and damned if she didn't. A weary look to her father was the sign that told her she had to refuse to take the turn, let him gamble his own money, let him take her own freedom. She couldn't sentence herself to being beaten again. All eyes on Krista and the cards, Ymir's eyes could be felt on her skin, edging her on, telling her to fold and trigger his wrath after the game until Ymir's voice became audible, it was stronger and not at all timid as it was before.

"Fold"

Harold sniggered at Ymir's call, even he knew the cards Ymir had. Ymir trailed his hand to meet Krista's and took the cards from her and placed them face down on the table before picking her up and wrapping her around his waist. Krista let out a small yelp at the unexpected movement but a look of glee could be found in her father's eyes, always glad for the money and uncaring that his daughter would be forced into vulgar, unspeakable actions with a stranger.


	2. Chapter 2 - Favour Towards The Dealer

Ymir hurried Krista away to her room upstairs; it was a big room: must have been the size of the front room, a king size bed in the centre of the room, railed head and bottom with white and red covers, the walls themselves were blank, cream coloured with a brown carpet, not at all what a 16 year-olds' room should look like but not many 16 year-olds are forced into this sort of work.

Upon entering the room, Ymir put Krista down which was something unexpected for Krista, she expected to be thrown on the bed, tied up, gaged, then pounded into for hours on end but this reprieve slowed everything down, she didn't feel in any sort of immediate threat, she felt as if she was with someone who cared. The young man turned from the bed to the door, gently closing it until the click of the lock being turned rung.

"Have you ever been with a woman before Krista?" Ymir asked as he shrugged his black jacket from his shoulders. "No I haven't sir, are you bringing a third?" Krista replied timidly from the bed. Ymir beckoned her over, curling his finger at her and letting his eyes bury themselves into Krista's. Krista slid off the bed and approached the 5"8' man, looking up on his towering frame when she was close enough to touch him. A long finger captured the blonde's jaw and brought it up to look taller man in the eye, he stooped down and placed his lips on hers. "Undo my shirt" echoed a low tone, resonating throughout the room and seeped into her mind.

Krista had learnt earlier that Ymir possessed very soft features, unfitting for someone who would use a girl for sex. As Krista crawled her hands from Ymir's belt to the top of his shirt, Ymir's hands matched Krista's pace, tracing the curvature of her hips, caressing the bone before grasping the fabric that surrounded them and gave a strong pull. The strain on the blonde's shirt rapidly increased and with another strong and calculated pull from both ends of the garment resulted with the familiar sound of buttons bursting from clothing and the rip of fabric, Krista had only just reached the tall figures collar and her top was already hanging off her shoulders; the raw sense of power and control rolling off Ymir as if she were trying the smother her in it. Krista undid the button closest to the young man's neck, the tips of her fingers catching his skin in the process causing a low growl to emerge from his chest. The smaller girl's eyes were focused heavily upon the strained buttons across his chest.

"Look me in the eye as if we were lovers." Krista's eyes trailed up to meet the brunette's own which softened the further down the buttons she got, almost as if he was missing having a partner to call his own, desperate to care for something other than money. Large hands reacquainted themselves with Krista's cheek, moving along it, tracing the recovering cheekbone, meeting stray strands of hair and carrying it with his hand to tuck them behind her ear as if they really were lovers. Maybe in some sick and twisted universe they truly cared for each other's feelings but the only feeling Krista wanted Ymir to feel was satisfaction to the point of exhaustion so she could sneak out as the man slept so she could have some peace to herself after a long night at work; the only emotion Ymir wanted to feel was some sort of connection to the girl writhing underneath him.

By the time the last of the buttons from Ymir's shirt were undone, all the wild strands of hair framing the petite girl's face were returned to their place. Krista nuzzled her face into the hand that cupped it, dragging her right hand up the parting in Ymir's shirt making sure to weaken her touch as she passed the tightly packed bandages covering his chest, deciding to not risk parting the shirt further as his hand was still close to her throat, not wanting to disturb the ritual he was conducting on her. She let her hand linger on his strong shoulder, trailing the other one to rest on his waistline, messing with the zipper to his trousers. Ymir's hands then commenced to move, the ritual deemed complete as he broke eye contact with her and harsher movements came into play, scraping his nails down her neck and pushing her torn shirt off her shoulders to her elbows.

Dropping her arms to her sides Krista shrugged out of her shirt, unclipping her bra as Ymir's eyes flickered to them as the shirt dropped to the floor with a gentle sound accompanying it like the carpet was sighing in relief. Krista stood there, only a few inches from Ymir in only black, old laddered tights, dolly heals and skirt, bare from the waist up. She was accompanied by the odd splattering of black and blue across her ribs from stray fists or sticks but none from the mouths of others; Ymir was thankful.

Krista stood there idly, unsure of what Ymir intentions were as his eyes inspected her goods. Whilst being analysed she still maintained eye contact, trying her hardest to look upon him fondly, only faltering to glance at his bandages. She was curious as to their purpose, no blood to be seen or bruising peeking out behind them and he showed no discomfort from the various positions he had sat in during the poker game. The blonde took a leap of faith, extending a hand to trace the outline however, Ymir grabbed the muscle at the left side of Krista's spine, burring his nails into the muscle, grabbing her neck with the other dragging her towards him and squaring their hips as they connected, forcing her lips onto his. The kiss was unexpected, resulting in a small whimper of pain and shock emerging from Krista. The kiss was hard but started slow, the sensation of burning from her spine became worse the longer she remained docile and unresponsive to his advances so she slipped into her usual approach with clients, kissing back with fever, crushing herself upon him as if she craved to breath the air he expelled, her hands tangling into his hair forcing him to lean down further. Small nips to the young man's lower lip told Ymir what the blonde wanted to do, tongues darted out, exploring fast then slow, twisting and fighting for dominance. Krista soon began to exert herself too much, the oxygen demand becoming more apparent but Ymir had different plans, slowing the kiss to trace the inside of Krista's mouth with his tongue. Whimpers erupted from Krista's lips as she broke the kiss, gasping for air which was interrupted by a hand wrapping its way around her throat, drawing her closer to reunite Ymir's lips with Krista's, setting them ablaze. Krista had been with many men before but this one was different, sure he was rough but in a caring way if that were possible.

Krista lost her hands in Ymir's hair pulling and grasping onto something as the adrenaline coursing through her system harmonised the sensations she was feeling all over into one wave cascading around her, drowning her in excitement and pleasure. Ymir's hand released the blonde's neck, traveling lower to her skirt, teasing the hem, gliding his fingers adeptly over her skin, tracing her zip and leg.

Ymir was intimidating to Krista; she could sense the intelligence, the knowledge of everything and any anything, the ease to manipulate her in ways she couldn't do anything about. This man made her question everything she had ever known by listening to the man speak, watch him play cards or how he held himself. But even that wasn't all the reason she was engrossed by him, there was something else, something more about his character which made her fear him; it wasn't something physical, it wasn't a display of anything it was just his being, the air he breathed out seemed different to everybody else's. His bodily functions the same but there was something else in the background that needed oxygen, something that created something powerful and invisible. This power to Krista was something she wanted to inspect and learn the craft of rather than to fear it. Knowing she would lay with this beast was thrilling to her in the dirtiest of ways.

"You've not finished taking my shirt off as instructed" This was more of a dare than a reminder, it screamed 'I dare you to disobey, I dare you to try take control, I want to see you try something so I can force you down.' Krista had heard these words more times than she could count yet she had never discovered the best thing to do. Some men beat her regardless, painting a picture on her with knives to illustrate their sadistic nature, some have let her take control but bruised her up after to keep their reputation. Some have stopped everything and left her alone as some sort of reward for standing up for herself. From what she was sensing off Ymir she knew she had to obey in that loving manner he craved for by resuming kissing him, putting more vigour into it and catching him off guard allowing her to push him into the door. Krista could tell that he enjoyed the reciprocated passion, eyes breaking their closure to see blown out pupils.

The thud from the door caused an echo to spread throughout the room, igniting the fight in both of them. Ymir's hands transcended upon Krista's cheeks again, both cupping and grabbing them with harsh callouses rubbing across the bone, fingertips digging into her temples forcing her head to remain straight and under Ymir's manipulation.

Something in Krista snapped, some switch she had some awareness of but not precise access to its location. She saw the power rolling from Ymir, his will to dominate but something in his blown out eyes gave her the confidence that Ymir had a decent gentle soul but had to have a rough exterior. He was looking for a partner to match him, someone willing to step up to the plate when needed, someone to compete with him. Krista's hands darted to the brunette's shoulders, pushing the shirt over their sharp edge exposing the muscled skin and old scars to the daylight seeping in from behind the closed curtains. Ymir could feel the added heat in Krista's kisses and ministrations, pushing off from the door, removing his hands from her pale face and pulling his shirt from his person he decided to stoop down again, kissing Krista from below but continuing his upward motion, grabbing Krista's rear under her skirt to lift her up as he continued to straighten.

This time round Krista was expecting it, already wrapping her legs around his waist and kicking off her shoes, hands trying to unwrap the bandages around his chest. As soon as her hands touched his bandages Ymir launched Krista from his waist to the bed, crouching down and removing a knife from under his trouser leg; a small compact obsidian blade. Placing it against his. chest blade outwards, the mobster sliced down the middle of his breast cutting the bandages off from the centre of his chest. The tatters of the bandages fluttered to the ground then Krista understood everything: the question about being with a woman, the feminine features, the missing bulge from "his" pants. This realisation was rather apparent on Krista face, she had never been with a woman and was truly unsure on their needs, did this mean that she was a bisexual? Even she couldn't deny that this is the biggest rush she's ever had off someone, usually with the male customers she had to fake an orgasm or interest but with this _woman_ she was on raw feelings and desires. Ymir didn't waver, _she_ didn't seem to give any time for Krista to wrap her head around the fact that Ymir was a female, B cup and vagina included. Ymir flattened her hands and smoothed them down her chest as if to re-familiarise herself with her less flat chest, reaching her belt she spoke, eyes fixated on the buckle. "There are a few ground rules, break them and I will break bones. One, do not touch me unless I give permission…" The buckle fastening forced Ymir to pause, putting her brain to work at figuring out the best movement to remove the article of clothing. "Two, never refer to me as female outside these four walls, it's between us and that if it gets out I will personally make sure you go through hell and back." Pulling the belt from around her waist, testing the weight of the buckle against her palm, tapping it a couple times and eyes flickering from the metal to Krista's wrists. "Three…" Ymir forced Krista's hands together and begun to tie the belt around them tightly. "Know that once I start I won't stop, but if I am hurting you tell me and I will slow down."

After smothering Krista's wrists with _her_ belt, she moved Krista so she could loop the belt one last time around the railing at the head of the bed. "Do you fully understand what I've said?" A swift nod from Krista was given, beads of sweat forming across her forehead, anticipation radiating off her. "I need verbal confirmation, I don't want to hurt a pretty little thing, especially one that's captured my interest" Ymir warned, unzipping her own trousers revealing Calvin Klein boxers, tailored to hug her in all the right places, allowing them to fall to the ground to compliment the carpet beautifully. "I understand." A short and very much well received response. Ymir's confidence renewed as Krista's passion ignited again within her eyes, each knowing the other had some genuine feelings showing and Krista was completely drowning in it. Lustful looks were exchanged, the anticipation for Krista's first experience with a woman to commence, she wanted to see what Ymir could do, she wanted to know the answers, she wanted to feel something more, she wanted to see how deep the rabbit hole went, Ymir knew this and she didn't want to disappoint.

A smirk crawled onto Ymir's lips, fantasising about all the things she could do to this small body, all the ways she could manipulate it, all the ways to play with Krista's mind and leave her wanting more, questioning all the things she's ever liked. Krista lay on the bed, arching her back, teasing Ymir and flaunting her bare chest, she understood this is still part of her routine, Ymir was still a paying customer, they weren't secret lovers nor had they made any promises of love, they could only go off each other's body language which wasn't concrete and up to interpretation.

Ymir kicked off her trousers completely whilst eyeing up Krista's top half, smirk still in place. She placed her hands on the bed to the right of Krista, testing the mattress, seeing how much she'd sink into it. High end memory foam, just as Ymir expected for a high priced whore. Ymir mounted the bed, knees sinking into the foam like marshland. She reached out to grab Krista's hem, pulling her down the bed so that her arms were fully extended above her with the subtle complaint of the strain placed on the headboard and the belt. Krista went stiff at the sudden movement but quickly relaxed allowing her spine to be embraced by the bed but keeping her head up, eyes fixated on Ymir's every move, learning what she does should she ever encounter her again, learn how to please a woman without the use of a mans equipment. Ymir quickly covered Krista in her shadow, latching onto her right nipple, sucking slowly like a young babe as she fondled the other as she searched for the zip on her skirt. The introduction of teeth caused Krista to suck air in through her own with a complimenting faint and drawn out "fuck".

Ymir continued, alternating from nipping to long lashes with her tongue taking great care to tease the end as much as she could, her other hand groping to focused light pinching and twisting causing Krista's spine to arch on impulse to the brunette's sinful ministrations. A downwards shove from Ymir's shoulder corrected Krista's movement and forced her to lay back on the bed and resist her body's callings, forcing her to endure all the pleasure head on. Ymir soon found the zip and removed Krista's skirt, throwing it in the general direction of the door. The gambler's hands explored the expanses of the shorter girl's thighs, mapping them out, taking note on how her body reacts as she lazily wrote her name on the soft skin.

Krista quickly became impatient with Ymir, deciding to take the risk and test out the restraints around her wrists. The click of metal against metal rung in her client's ears; she had just called the kraken. Ymir was on her within a second, the palm of her left hand was under the blonde's jaw pushing up, making Krista look up and away to protect her airway. Ymir's other hand had dug into the most sensitive spot of Krista's thigh. Surprisingly to taller woman Krista's inner thighs were as sensitive as a virgin's and digging her nails into them elicited a light howl from the blonde. When Ymir had decided the younger woman had understood the message she released the pressure from both her hands. the shorter girl's eyes were like volcanoes, lust pouring from them and the desire in her irises was something that even Krista didn't understand where it had appeared from.

Krista was very rarely told to top, and even rarer did she actually want to, but in this situation all she could thing about is if the positions were reversed and all the things she would do to Ymir, all the practice she could have. Ymir's head dipped a little lower, moving her tongue from the girl's chest to her waist and further, tasting the skin, leaving a cold trail as she went.

As soon as Ymir's breath could be felt on Krista's burning core her head lolled back, unable to continue to watch the woman. Ymir could tell the effect she was having on the petite blonde, her muscles taught under her hands, groans falling from the mouth, liquid from the other pair of lips. Krista at this point felt how vulnerable she was, bare in front of this person who had more of an effect on her than any of the countless others, she almost wanted to impress this woman, to win her approval and form something more than empty words and the silence that pursued them.

Krista was more than aware that it was about 4 in the evening and her father charged customers by the hour. Most men fucked her and abruptly left so the next payment wouldn't be taken but she wanted Ymir to stay, for them to converse about anything, everything. Krista could feel there was something behind the façade Ymir put on, she wanted to enquire more about her as a person: her education, her aspirations. She wanted to believe that Ymir was looking for a partner and she hoped that a good enough ride would put her as a contender, she was like a forbidden book that held the secrets to life in it, she was magnetised to its pages.

Krista managed to muster up enough strength to look at Ymir again, daring to look the beast in the eye and the 'beast' had the same idea, meeting the eye of her victim as if she were the lead role in a play making sure the character's speech resonated with that one person in the audience it was truly aimed at, the threat of murder turning from part of a play to a corpse the next morn. The furrowing of Ymir's eyebrows sent Krista a wave of anticipation, the thrill of knowing Ymir was analysing her and knowing she was winning the attraction game. Krista feared this game and hated winning but with this particular customer she enjoyed being chased, the twists and turns being one of high intensity but all with pleasurable outcomes.

Warmth spread from Krista's core to her heart, Ymir's tongue gliding across the opening, diving into the inner goods, drinking up the wine that intoxicated her being. Hands grabbing her chest, pulling at her thighs, fingers leaving prints in the cream canvas of her legs. The gambler's tongue to the petite woman was like being hooked on heroine, usually forced upon her by the drug lords but today she wanted this chemical coursing through her veins and fucking with her mind. The fire that was in her eyes vacated and moved to between her hips. Ymir lapping at the rich alcohol, long lashes, quick darts inside the refinery. The one thing that struck Krista was that the brunette was avoiding her clit, she created the connection that Ymir was very experienced in this field so she must have known where it was, but she didn't dare touch it as if it were some cursed ancient Aztec temple.

Eye contact remaining but becoming shakier as Ymir's tongue dipped a little deeper in her Krista's domineering side joined in for the chorus. Laboured breathing becoming more vocalised and the breathy moans ripping out of the blonde's lungs rippled in the air. "Stop avoiding…" A very feint command fell from Krista's lips, dancing down to Ymir's ears. It was at that point that the good respectable Ymir fell from her pedestal and dragged Krista down with her.

Drawing her teeth to Krista's clit she toyed with the small bundle of nerves like a teething puppy, tasting whatever substance she could gain. Ymir's eyes were no longer sane looking, they were howling to the moon. Turning from her ministrations her hands were parting the shorter woman's thighs as far apart as they could go. Her mouth sucking at the tender flesh there, leaving bites and hickeys as if a rabid animal.

Desperate moans from Krista rang in the other's ears, masking the frenzied pulling at the restrains; undoing the buckle without being noticed, liberating her hands and burying them in Ymir's hair forcing the woman's head back in-between her legs. The gentle and submissive Krista was quickly replaced with raw adrenaline Krista and she was craving pleasure. A smirk contaminated Ymir's face as she pleased the young lady, eyes flickering to Krista's whose face was contorted with eyebrows arched and lips pursed. The fight in both of them flaring with Krista liberated and trying to take control and Ymir enjoying the thrill of the hunt which turned into something more than 'how fast can a girl run but how quick can a girl lay a trap.'

This was the first time Krista had heard the brunette moan, a low and hoarse groan that gripped the core of her spine almost instilling fear but too high on dopamine she received this as a tsunami of pleasure crashing down on a coastal village. What caught Ymir off guard was the sudden change in which way was up. Krista's thighs clamped down on her head and flipped them over, mounting her face.

Even the petite blonde was pleased with herself, adopting Ymir's smirk as her own. As much as Krista wanted her client to indulge she knew she must be needing air around about now, pivoting just enough to keep the taller woman trapped but just enough to inhale the musty air. "Oh my dear, I'm not avoiding anything, I'm simply dragging it out as much as I can, prolonging the fun." Ymir was still a little breathless as a result of the daring move Krista made but once again the fire in Ymir's eyes managed to burn brighter than before. Her command in question and all her dominance was fighting within herself to make sure that she didn't ruin the girl for others.

Ymir's hands wound themselves around the outsides of Krista's thighs, grabbing her rear and forcing her down onto her welcoming mouth. Everything resumed as it was before albeit a little slower and drawn out, Ymir nipping and swirling her tongue inside her, darting it in and out then teasing her clit again. Whimpering broke the silence and on que Ymir introduced one finger into Krista. An abrupt jolt of pleasure caused Krista to respond, her body moving away from Ymir's warm mouth. The taller woman understood this was a knee jerk response after all the men that had probably forced their hands into her at the wrong time and caused her serious harm but she was well ready for Ymir by this time in their love making. "Hush amore, I won't harm you, I'll make sure you're warmed up enough" Ymir purred from beneath Krista. Her caring side coming back into play but also the seductive side as 'amore' was heavily stressed as it rolled off her tongue as if it were designed to only say that word. Krista's ears were soothed by the fluttering of reassuring words as she lowered herself back into Ymir's mercy, slowly pumping one finger then transitioning to two.

Fluid leaked from Ymir's fingers onto her palm indicating she was probably ready for a third, looking up to Krista for approval a small nod was given to the woman below and she decided to forgo the formalities. Krista was well acquainted with the men who when knew she was close, or when they thought she was, would pick up the pace and work them their hardest to maximise the pleasure 'both' of them felt and Ymir was at this point too. The calm and cool Ymir was sweating, eyes set ablaze like a wild forest fire, her mind buzzing with all the things she could do and what needed to be restricted.

A third finger entered Krista and a further throaty cry tore its way from her throat, by this time Ymir had had enough of being below the gorgeous blonde and flipped her over unexpectedly. Ymir covered the smaller body with her own, it was only when she was fully elongated again Krista remembered how tall this woman was compared to her small frame. Ymir kissed her allowing Krista to taste herself, nibbling her lower lip seeking permission for entrance which she readily gave. Ymir's hips automatically began to thrust, deepening Ymir's fingers further into her, hitting her g-spot more vigorously causing the small girl to start seeing visions of ecstasy. The panting and moaning becoming audible to the down stairs occupants made Ymir more aware that her cover could be blown if any unusual feminine sounds unearthed themselves. "Fuck… fuck me harder" Krista called only seconds away from release. Ymir understood exactly what she wanted and she let her self-control go, unleashing everything to push her to orgasm in a way no man had ever made her.

A deep kiss muted Krista as all her muscles clamped down on Ymir's fingers. A violent ripple of pleasure coursed through Krista, hands gripping Ymir's shoulders as if they were stress balls. Nail scratches were run down the brunette's spine and a litter of bite-marks complimented the freckles that were splattered across her collarbones. A few last slow pumps saw Krista's orgasm live its full life span so it could rattle through every bone in her body then Krista went limp, heaving panting following the procession.

Damp hair framed both their faces, sweat beads accumulated on their chests after their vigorous exercise. Ymir knew she had to get ready to go, leaning over the bed to retrieve her trousers Krista's arms wrapped themselves around Ymir's torso, her head resting next to Ymir's and lips next to her left ear. "Please stay the night, be something different than the others, I'll pay."

These words were like scripture, spoken by a goddess. It was as if spoken between lovers which sent Ymir back into her caring side, unable to rip herself away from her paid company.


	3. Chapter 3 - Pair of Hearts

Ymir sat idle on the edge of the bed, Krista's lips on her ear. A faint flow of air inhaled and exhaled from Krista tickled Ymir's side. "You can't afford to keep me here especially with your money looming on the game's outcome downstairs." The brunette muttered with her hand covering her mouth as if blushing. "You're a smoker aren't you?" Krista asked as she removed herself from Ymir's person to lean back on her arm exposing her chest, incising her services to eyes that she knew would be interested. "Cute _and_ observant, I like it. Pass me my shirt, as much as it goes well with the curtains I prefer to have my lighter next to my breast as much as a hot girl." A head gesture to her shirt next to the door accompanied the remark, reminding Krista that no matter how domineering she wanted to be or how confident she would be with this woman she will always be at the mercy of this woman's purse.

Krista crawled off the bed, groaning at the twang she felt between her thighs. Ymir fumbled with her trousers, pulling out a pack of redwood cigarettes and letting the expensive fabric fall out of her grip and rest on the floor again all whilst keeping her eyes fixated on Krista's perky rear. Krista knew what the taller woman was doing; even though she was a girl she acted very much like a man and had the same mind set albeit a bit gentler and caring. As much as the blonde conducted the same moves on Ymir as she did every other paying man she added extra meaning to it. Rather than to please the eye she wanted to please Ymir's soul, allow it to dance with hers so there could be an invisible game of chess moving to capture the king but seduce the queen as they went about it.

Krista felt a lot more comfortable with this woman, she didn't refuse staying longer and she herself was calm as well, volatile eyes quenched by her release. In an alternate universe she saw them as old lovers, not rushing the fill the silence between them but enjoying the calm within it and each other. Krista knew it was silly to feel this way, they had only met two hours ago and she'd been payed to have sex with the taller woman but something in the blonde allowed her old timid self to evaporate away and her studious school persona to show which was a lot truer to herself than what her father taught her. The one thing she was thankful for was her father's words of 'wisdom' "good girls bend at the knee, bad girls bend at the waist."

Leaning over to reclaim Ymir's shirt she forced the woman's eyes to not move vacate her body forcing the attraction to surge again, Krista's needs and wants for this lanky woman were one and the same and she would convince her to stay as long as possible just so she could figure out the 'how-to-win' section of this manual of Ymir. Gathering the shirt, she whipped her head around to meet Ymir's eyes, her cheekiness showing off be a small lift in her eyebrow with a seductive wiggle, tempting the brunette to come play again but also warned her that she was up to something. Raising the shirt above her head she pitched the shirt as if she was a professional baseball pitcher, collision course aimed at Ymir's unsuspecting face. An extended hand and arm met the silk shirt dead on all whilst Ymir's eyes pierced into Krista's own. The excess fabric flew past her hand to catch her cheek but she gave no hindrance in her eye contact; not even a blink. "Steady on there tigress!" The smile and a low chuckle emerging from Ymir mouth allowed Krista to giggle at her mischief. The gambler lowered her arm to fully expose her smile and the blonde was stunned; the eyes she saw as analytical were gleaming in comfort, almost playful.

Pulling a cigarette from the packet, Ymir's smile didn't fade but continued to grow, clamping her teeth around the cigarette and manoeuvring it into the corner of her mouth. "And I'll guess that collecting lung cancer isn't a voluntary hobby of yours" emphasising the cigarette by wiggling it in between her lips as she retrieved her flip lighter from her shirt's breast pocket. A sharp exhalation from Krista was supposed to be a laugh but was more full of pain than happiness. Her right hand met her left elbow, eyes conversing with the floor. "Voluntary being the key word there…" Krista mumbled as she approached the bed once again, more sombre than before and the fun she once had was lacking its comforting feel.

Krista's approach was slow as she rounded the bed and crouched in front of the tall brunette. Krista shielded the cigarette as Ymir flipped the lighter open, lighting the end to which she filled her lungs with smoke. Ymir held her breath, allowing all the nicotine to be absorbed and readying her hand to withdraw the cigarette from her mouth but dainty hands beat her to it though, stealing the cigarette from very literally under the taller woman's nose. Smoke emerged out of Ymir's nose as if she were an angry bull but Krista didn't care, twisting her torso away from the brunette so she couldn't quickly retrieve the burning Tabaco.

Small puffs of smoke materialised from Krista's mouth, Ymir frozen with her eye brows raised. "Now I took you for a non-smoker, maybe a social smoker at a push. But this…" Ymir waved her hand at Krista's form as she turned to let her eyes survey the voice behind the comment. "This is a little bit of a turn on." Another giggle spouted from the girl as she gracefully held the cigarette in between her fingers as if she were a veteran. "The harsh reality is I won't live to the age to see the effects of smoking on my lungs, I reckon one day my father will put me with someone who will end up beating me to death. At least by smoking I'm putting death in between my lips, I have control over that." Placing the cigarette back in her mouth Ymir collected a fresh one and lit it allowing her cravings to be quenched.

The ash falling from the end of Krista's cigarette caught Ymir's eyes as she put her shirt on. "Your father mind you smoking? I wouldn't think he would want a wheezing woman to get puffed out after the first two minutes, quite a turn off." With Ymir's cigarette burning low she approached the curtains and threw them open, opening the window, welcoming the fresh air into her lungs as well as the last of the smoke. "Father hates me doing anything other than his friends, my life will always be in his hands. Once I stole a blade from a certain fellow and carved up my hip…" a chuckle joined the smoke as it emerged from Krista, "I was trying to write my mother's name but it turned out to look like blind slashes, or that's what I told him. After that, father grabbed his machete and led me to my room, tied me up and beat me so fucking hard I couldn't stand for a week, used the machete to cut my hair off and he just left me there…" Krista raised herself from the floor, cigarette at the end of its life, one last puff and she flicked it out of the window. Ymir's eye remained focused on the outside world, humming ever so slightly and making more audible sounds giving hints of acknowledgement, that she was listening. Ymir herself allowing all the ways to torture Rod play out in full within her mind. "My father lowered my rates because of my lack of hair, I had everyone I've ever known in my bed that month, father said I didn't need to move so I was strapped to my bed and I wasn't freed until my hair was at a reasonable length to be seen as respectable."

The sun captured Ymir in a way that made her look angelic, the sun casting shadows that made her jaw sharp enough to cut yourself on. Krista guessed that the woman has some native American blood in her, she had that beautiful complex that made Krista appreciate the appearance of this fortress of secrets, light dusting of freckles kept her looking more approachable, without them she would look too sharp and dangerous. "Y'know you shouldn't clench your jaw like that, it's not good for you" Krista's voice was a lot softer this time round thanks to her traumatic past fading out of her mind allowing her to return to the dainty little thing she was. "So is smoking yet you didn't seem to complain about it. You like to choose your battles don't you? You strike me as that sort of person." Ymir retorted stubbing out the cigarette on the roof then throwing it out of the window. Ymir raised her right arm above her head and rested it again the window frame. "I'm forced to be more of a 'make love not war' type of person" Krista replied, ducking under Ymir's arm to nuzzle under it thankful for the warmth radiating off of her, the air was crisp and cold which burned into Krista's bare form. The muscles used to clench Ymir's jaw turned it into a smile. Ymir glanced down at Krista with doting eyes, lowing her hand off the frame to ruffle up Krista's hair in a playful manner. "You live in one fucked up world there lil' missy, I wish I could do something for you but I only do grunt work." Ymir almost seemed sarcastic in the comment but Krista heard the honesty behind the comment, she had heard this a lot of several of her customers, vows of freeing her but nothing ever came of them apart from further injury. Krista had learnt to just exist and take every day as it came, focus on her education and hope for some rich customer to pay for university and she could try make an escape but she didn't see herself living that long, she gave herself till she hit the ripe old age of eighteen.

"So apart from _this_ what else do you do with yourself?" Ymir inquired, moving her arm from Krista's ruffled hair to her waist pulling her in closer and in front of her. "Homework" Krista was blunt with her words, deciding to keep personal information away from the other woman's mind. Comedy whirled in her eyes as she clocked the brunette's taken back reaction by this blunt but obvious answer. Ymir hung her head, almost as if she were bested in a game of rummy. A long exhalation from Ymir's nose turned from a sigh into a light chuckle. "Okay okay smart arse, anything of other significant value. Wait! Don't tell me… you do free palm readings to calm your aura down when shit hits the fan." The woman's head was up again, her eyes oozing sarcasm matched with a stupid grin that made Krista look away to cover her glaring smile. The blonde knew at that moment she was in good company, either Ymir was an extremely proficient liar or she genuinely was like this when she didn't have to be 'male'.

Ymir's eyes continued to relish in the comedic remark until the smaller woman slapped her in the gut with the back of her hand. Impact causing the woman to hunch over a little bit, she soon begun to laugh as she straightened her spine and tensed her abs. "The kitten bares her mighty claws! Good job I'm sculpted like a Greek God." Krista couldn't bear to look at this woman in the eye, she knew what she was capable of yet this was a side of her which she didn't believe was achievable. Casual conversation between two people, utter relaxation and contentment filled the gap that parted them. The blonde didn't want this to be a one-off thing, this human interaction was something she had craved for since the passing of her mother. "For someone who silicates in prostitution you're a real goof ball you know." Krista jested as she paced her palm on Ymir's abs, allowing her nails to dig in a little, testing out what give there was in them. "For a prostitute you're awfully blunt, and I'm just going to put this out there but technically aren't you paying me for my company?" Ymir removed her hand from Krista's hip and traced the blondes jaw with her thumb. Cocking her head Ymir continued. "A wee bit hypocritical don't you think?" Stooping down the gambler placed the sweetest of kisses on the girl's small lips and returned to her full height. "Well _technically_ I'm giving you money and you're choosing to spend it on my services, if I were paying you for your services I would have you on your back and I would have my way with you but as of right now I'm not doing anything to you apart from testing these G _od like_ abs of yours" Krista returned with the sweetest of smiles, drifting her hand upwards to rest it where Ymir's heart lay. The taller woman poked the shorter one lightly in the shoulder pushing her a little against the wall. Placing her hands of either side of the blonde she cut her off from escape as if she were a trained huntress who had cornered a sabre cat's kitten. Ymir visibly changed in front of Krista which instantly ripped away the security she felt, she returned to feeling intimidated by this woman, remembering that she was a paying customer and she wasn't a good guy.

As much sass they could rally with she was a deadly sparring partner and Krista had forgot this. Parting Krista's legs with her knee, Ymir's grin returned to her face but this one was more riddled with mischief and danger as if she were a different person and Krista was willing to jump from the window just to escape this feeling of immediate turmoil. The taller woman grabbed onto the blonde's chin roughly, jerking it to the side then the other. "Y'know I do like you, I would happily keep you for myself and have you locked up just for me but there is just a minor issue related to those rules I mentioned to you earlier." Ymir's other hand gripped Krista's wrist and squeezed with as much force as possible, hearing the crack under her fingers as she removed the wandering hand from her person. Krista's face contorted into one of extreme pain, attempting to pull her hand away but caused it further damage. "You're not a lover who can touch my heart, you're a sweet little thing and if you weren't an overpriced whore I'd call you my girl. Seeming as you are a hooker you're nothing to me but some fun. I'll be here next month and I will be for the foreseeable future; poker night is going to become a popular thing when I tell my boss about the wonderful hospitality you offer, I won't be the only one who comes and sees you, you'll be a very _very_ busy girl. Rules are rules baby, I'm sorry." Ymir let go allowing her hand to fall to her side. Grabbing her scattered clothing she quickly put them on and left doing her buttons up.


	4. Chapter 4 - Old Rules Hardest Forgotten

Krista just stood there, unmoving as she heard Ymir walk down the stairs, a loud "fuck me! She ain't half bad, now back to the game!" could be heard above Krista's soft sobs before the flood gates were opened.

What just happened? Why would she react that way? What did I do wrong? All these thoughts were whirling across the synapses in Krista's brain. With all these questions occupying all her conscious processing power Krista could just about muster the strength to stagger to the wooden door, attempt to open it and pursue her paid lover. The strength borrowed broke its limits and she collapsed by the door, sliding down to meet the carpet. The draught from under the door flowed over her bare form causing goose bumps to arise on the surface of her skin; she didn't know what to do. The threat given has happened to her before and it was the worse 6 months of her life, the man who threatened her was high up in the local gang and she was used as much as a social networking site. She knew the look in Ymir's eyes had more to it than enforcing rules, it almost seemed personal. Krista had found out from previous events that this was the type of repercussion equal to an atom bomb going off in your garden than a small frag grenade in the neighbouring street.

Tears that were long overdue began to form and trickle over Krista's cheeks, falling from her chin onto her lap. Alongside Krista's fear for the future, confusion over the past, and pain of the present there was an odd twang that accompanied the confusion. It was almost as if she had a crack in her walls against getting personally involved, that one command of treating Ymir like a lover didn't feel like something she had to force herself to do like all the countless others, it danced through her as if it were vintage wine poured from the bottle.

Krista had felt this way before, a long time ago when her life was at the tipping point of turning into the twisted, chaotic world it now is. Her childhood wasn't a nice one but it was better in comparison to what she had now.

The lynch pin to her world was her mother.

Before the fall Krista had a rocky home life but she was too young and immature to understand the nature of the problems her parents had with her and each other. All she knew for a fact was that 'daddy hits mummy and mummy didn't love her.' The only support network she ever had was her grandmother; she would look after her when things got too heated in the house which ended up being once a month or so. Her grandmother was the hippie type: long waves of silver hair, colourful silk scarves, wooden necklaces, and flowers everywhere. She always thought of her grandmother as the keeper of peace and nature. The blonde always distinctly remembered her Gran's glasses, big round things with blue tinted lenses but there was always a small chip in them. She went through several pairs and all of them had the same chip in the same place; the story goes that there were three bears and she had to fight them off to keep young Krista safe. When the glasses changed, the marks remained the same but six-year-old Krista would always ask how the small unnoticeable chip in the blue tinted glass emerged. A smile always bloomed on her grandmother's face as soon as she asked and eventually it only took "well… there were three bears" for both of them to begin to giggle and the story was never repeated again. She passed away when Krista was ten and a lonely girl's comfort went with her, she was on her own and felt the wrath of her father everyday with no reprieve.

The house pretending to be her home seemed dismal, smiles were a rare currency that was stolen as soon as it was forged and the source destroyed. Her mother's face was permanently taught in pain and when she saw Krista it turned into one of disgust. The grey eyes that held the emotion of a dead fish bore into her, relentless in their attack.

All acceptance from everyone who knew her name was lost to the ages.

She was a grounded bird who just wanted to escape the cage and learn to sing.

When she turned eleven, she was given two black eyes for the first time and a slash across her back with the kitchen knife. She walked into the front room to blow out her birthday candles and her mother refused to let her cut the cake, as soon as she started to leave her mother threw the blade at her. Luckily it missed her head but it skimmed her back tearing her pyjamas and her flesh. Five years later she still has a feint scar from her right hip trailing to her left shoulder blade.

By her twelfth birthday she concluded everything bad that could happen will. Once again she was in the front room on the morn of her birthday, her mother walked in with the same knife, presented it as if it were a gift meant for her accompanied by feint words of prayer and her wrists were opened up. Slashed across at the thinnest skin, tearing the tendons like broken violin strings then a deep line dragged upwards. The blade didn't travel so smoothly. It tugged on muscle as the blood begun to clot before bursting again as soon as the sharp metal passed by its supplier. The blonde couldn't recall much after that apart from all the white in the room being stained. They were too poor to afford wallpaper replacement, her gifts serenaded in her mother's arterial blood. The one thing her father did was pay for therapy, rehabilitate her so she would be "functioning".

Mid way through her fourteenth year on this planet she started work, most teens by that age had a paper round but she was doing different types of rounds. Her father never met anyone new, she didn't think he could bring a woman with a beating heart into his life let alone anyone who would condone of his way of income. A few women entered the house for 'night time' activity in which the young girl was forced to watch and learn how to please a man, her own private lessons and of course she had to pay for the service by using what she had learnt on customers. All this time she was going to school and acing all of her classes, even she found it miraculous that she was getting the exemplary grades she was achieving with all the devils work she was forced to do.

The blonde's year so far was quiet: she turned sixteen in January, she revised a lot for her GCSE's, she finished secondary school in July, she had prom which ended how she expected it, and now in late August got the results she wanted. None of that changed the fact her heart felt as if it were stolen and she was naked on her own floor.

Krista slowed her breathing, cycling the air and regaining control over her small form. Laying her hands flat beside her she rested her back against the door and spread her legs in front of her instead of leaving them in the heap that she had landed in. Quietly banging her head against the rough wood, tears that were threatening to leak from her eyes once again saw through their promise. Shoulders yielding to the demand of heavy crying, her entire body followed suit and began to shake. Krista wasn't a pretty crier, she was the type of girl who snotted everywhere and got the hiccups. She remained that way for a couple of minutes, only stopping her waterworks after her father yelled at her from downstairs to "shut the fuck up girl!" She knew where this would lead if she didn't do as she was told, once before she was beaten so bad that she had her arm broken in 5 places, her father didn't care, she was in so much pain that she screamed and when she didn't stop her father came up into the room and broke her leg so she would pass out, she was forced to walk to school the following day and then school took her to the hospital.

Drawing her legs closer she pulled herself onto her hands and knees, crawling over to her clothes. Pausing at each pile, she collected the removed articles and threw them to the bed. Once finished she made her way to the place where most men violate her. Gathering her strength she raised herself to her feet whilst her shoulders still threatened to shake and her knees to buckle from underneath her. One knee followed the other as they met the mattress, moving sluggishly to the middle of the bed. The twang the young woman felt between her legs had not yet left her, reminding her of what had happened with Ymir. She knew she had to get changed and go down stairs and continue to flirt, attempt to draw the customer back for another round or another visit on a different day, what Ymir had already said to her is that she was to get several repeat visits by the gambler but also others. She knew the brunette wouldn't say anything as threatening to her father but Ymir's mind was crafty and could easily make it sound like a business proposition, sound more formal in the way that these men tended to do. Of course her father would have to agree, it meant more income as well as more company and the better the opportunity to expand his own business; chance mingle amongst the bigger gangs and make his services available to them too.

When Krista's form was covered she once again had to force her head to remain high and her shoulders straight, to force her feet through the struggle of passing the doorway. She only wavered on the stairs but as soon as she was in eye sight she was the same old sultry girl.


	5. Chapter 5 - Poker Face

The room, as Krista entered it, was colder than it was before with the air drowning tension. Ymir was sat out of this game, the previous game was still playing… somehow. Ymir's cards were now flipped over on the table; utterly worthless.

The cards that were sprawled in front of her were different from the ones Krista had seen generating a flash of confusion to infiltrate her mind and wander across her eyes. Ymir's own caught this look, darting her eyes into Krista's as an eyebrow twitch accompanied it. With a routine smug look growing on Ymir's face she brought her hand to her face and messed with her hair, combing it back then drawing it down to her collar. "And here comes the girl of _my_ hour!" Ymir announced throwing her arms open as if she were about to greet a very old friend after prolonged separation. Rod's eyes found Krista's, trudging from her messed up hair to her worn face then to her dying eyes. A small head gesture and a rolling of the eyes he commanded her to approach the origin of the comment. Once again she was approaching Ymir but now it felt as if she were approaching an inhabited bear's cave now she was more informed on who this _woman_ was. The already fucked up game that she was accustomed to playing had become more sinister.

The brunette cottoned on to Rod's plan before he conjured the idea himself, filling her lungs with as much air as she could and allowed a loud sigh to flow past her lips. Her tongue followed suit, snaking out to dampen her lips before adding "Going for the freshly fucked look eh girlie?" The signature cocky grin remained plastered on her face. Krista smiled the way her father taught her, resorting to basics to let the woman feel as if she were just another customer: just another person to share her bed, just another scumbag but the way Ymir's brown eyes scanned her form made her falter for the slightest of seconds. The gambler Krista now saw wasn't the same as she first met her, or in her bedroom. She was prepared for business; ready to lie through her teeth and she was itching to do something violent. Her eyes were flickering through the pages of mentally written analysis, tongue pursed ready to spit venom and muscles coiled ready to strike. This persona that cascaded off Ymir made the blonde fearful on her approach. The smile she tried to give melted at the ends twisting it to make it look more like a grimace and the taller woman was perfectly aware of the effect she was having.

Harold's determination to win the game didn't waver shown by quiet cursing and desperate hands fumbling with cards used to line cocaine, a gamblers prayer for their worth to change. Of course Ymir knew this, almost as if were a choreographed dance and she knew the song all too well. Krista wondered how the woman managed to change the cards to effortlessly in front of her father, sure she was sat upon the lap of liar and a cheat but she knew if she didn't see an exchange her father would.

"Timid little thing I won't bite you here, I have business to attend to. Your company will always sweeten the deal, my lap misses you… if you would" Ymir's hand flattened out her collar then motioned to her lap, separating her legs for the blonde to perch on one, facing into the table. She would have a wonderful view of the game as it played out in front of her.

Ymir wasn't supposed to be this powerful, Harold was the one in charge right? Where was the timid unexperienced person she met?

"I apologise about my boy, it appears as if your girl loosened him up too much. He forgets himself!" Harold's eyes snapped to Rod, but they lacked true emotion, a façade that must have been well practiced by now. Harold's eyes to Rod seemed sincere enough as he waved his hand is dismissal, eyes never leaving to explore past his hand. "Krista drags out the wolf in a man, think nothing of it. It appears he wants to take over the main lead's role in our discussions" Rod was always a calm man in front of potential business partners, always catering for the needs of the others but he would always have their arms twisted behind their back. As Krista sat on the welcoming lap an arm surrounded her waist, supporting her as a high quality chair would. Ymir's cologne entering her senses and the strain on her muscles became more apparent. "So boyo, think you can play with the big boys eh? We aren't talking about trading cards in the playground, what your father has proposed is movement of narcotics, high end shit. You deliver them, I store them. I'd get the word out seeming as that pretty little thing you had riding your cock earlier is popular with some rather important people in the system." Rod's condescending tone was something Krista was accustomed to; she had been witness to many deals like this before, all of which went her father's way. He played dumb, trailer trash but somehow he was educated in the art of dealing drugs and prostitution services. A class A gang banger.

The brunette only responded with a chuckle followed by a glance to Harold. The grip around Krista's waist tightened a little too much for comfort and the blonde could visibly tell the other was getting frustrated. Not one to back down from a fight the brunette's chuckle lowered to a different octave. Ymir already had a low voice for a woman, in comparison to man she would be relatively high pitch but this drop in tone was unnerving for Krista and she knew the effect it would have on her father. In this moment Krista thought of Ymir as the joker with the similar laugh and dangerous vibes resonating from her were more than vexing. "Rod, it's cute that you think you have power over me but I'm more than you think. I have a fresh batch of heroine ready to move with a growing line of people willing to throw themselves under a train to get their hands on it however their insurance is too much to pay so I want you to do me a favour, behave and take the offer I'm about to give you." Ymir sat upright, leaning in a little too much to sustain the blonde on her lap comfortably. Krista's hands shot around the back of the other woman's neck to support herself on her lap unknowing if she should avoid this gangster or prepare to hit her if she oversteps the levels her father would tolerate.

Krista leaned into her captor's neck, nibbling it a little to try get her to relax but to no avail. Harold on the other hand did nothing apart from fumbling around with his belt then returning to staring at the pair of cards and nothing more. Ymir's eyes were volcanos of potential catastrophic violence, spitting smoke and soot into the air before something devastating occurred. "3%" Ymir was like a weeping angel, blink and she would be at your neck preparing to rip it out and Rod was well aware of the hostility in the murky air. The young girl knew if Ymir did anything her father would grab his shotgun from under the table and paint the wall with her flesh. Krista knew for a fact the gambler had a small knife but that was far from the instant death of a shotgun slug to the head and this blade wasn't meant for throwing. "Ymir please don't do anything fucking stupid, you won't leave alive" Krista's petite voice wasn't meant for such crude words but its uncharacteristic tone forced their message to ring in Ymir's ears like the aftermath of a bomb going off. Another sigh emerged from her mouth and she relaxed a little, she knew what Krista meant. Her eyes fluttering from Krista's lips to Rod's hands and the trails his eyes made. Rod challenged Ymir by leaning forwards, hands disappearing under the table allowing the unknown to do the talking for him.

"Rod, it's your turn, I get rather impatient whilst money is on the table" Harold's voice finally aired itself with emphasis placed on the card game by waving his cards a little. A smirk erupted on Rod's face "I have a better proposition, you take your fathers cards Ymir and the winner of this game gets to decide if its 3% or my preferred 40%" Rod's hand emerged again, no shotgun in sight. Adopting his earlier position; he slouched in his chair, eyes still burying into the persona radiating off Harold's 'son'. Ymir didn't relax one bit but the sound of Harold's cards being slid over the table signified the taking up of the gauntlet. "Krista, darling? Will you be my good luck charm?" Ymir asked aloud. A cautious glance from the blonde to her father was exchanged silently but not covertly. A simple slow blink of agreement was given and the act continued. "Of course!" Enthusiasm rolling off her tongue like water off Niagara Falls. As Ymir looked at her cards the blonde feared for the worst, 7 of hearts and 2 of diamonds, a hand with no worth at all. Krista knew her father cheated, he did it all the time; he would put his hands under the table in a tense moment as people forgot about the game and switched them for better cards. He was well practised at this art and would never make it obvious. Krista wondered if the cocky gambler would make a switch as well, she had done it before and she was oblivious to it as well as her father. It would be risky but would it pay off?

Switch the cards, fail and end up with a bullet to the head or succeed and keep 37% of the profit.


	6. Chapter 6 - House Always Wins

Ymir inspected her hand, tutted and glanced at Harold in disappointment. Ymir was aware of the situation, she flipped the situation in her head to get a feel for what Rod could do. She knew something dangerous would be hidden under the table, the way he held his legs were as if they were making room for something else. What Rod wanted was ridiculous, all her profits would be lost and she would be a laughing stock, her bosses would also remove limbs for this sort of deal. If she didn't win this game she would be dead by sunrise. Krista saw the emotion play out in Ymir's pupils, the black hole sucking in all the light they could get. Krista knew Ymir had to make a switch and she wanted to watch her like a hawk, not for her father's sake but for her own, it would be like watching a pro magician at point blank range and the idea of that excited her. Her father had taught her how to look for cheating in poker and other card games but Rod was better at catching a cheat than she was, if he didn't catch her then he couldn't beat her too bad for it because he missed it too, it had only happened once before when both of them missed a cheat and it was only after that they both realised. Krista was forced to reimburse Rod double the worth of the pot so she gathered it would be the same this time and if Ymir kept her threat then she knew she would unfortunately make back the money quickly so the punishment wouldn't be too bad in her eyes seeming as she would have to sleep with all these people either way.

Ymir's eye once again began to bubble and sputter ash, her hand that once held her cards turned more violent and began to crush them. "What's the holdup boyo?, I'll raise the pot, wanna dance?" Rod was spilling his confidence everywhere, emphasising every single _fucking_ syllable and it was slowly enraging the brunette. Ymir looked at the chips left and realised that Rod was forcing her to go all in, it was the only option available to her to continue the game. Lifting her hand to reach into her breast pocket she pulled out her lighter and her empty hand to her pocket to pull out her pack of cigarettes. Krista knew she wouldn't use her card hand to pull out her cigarettes otherwise Rod would cotton on and Ymir wasn't that stupid. Flipping the lid of the packet as she raised it towards Krista and dainty hand emerged knowing what was requested. Krista lifted a cigarette from the packet, flipping it around in her fingers and sliding the end into Ymir's mouth. Ymir's hand met hers as she jerked the lighter open igniting the cigarette but she didn't inhale the toxins, instead opting to breathe in through her nose allowing the smoke to ride over her cheek. Rods eyes followed the smoke as Krista expected but Ymir made no move, maybe she had no intention on making a switch, playing the game through scare tactics, combating fire with fire or so Krista concluded.

Ymir's hand wavered, lighter still producing flames. A picture of fire was painted in the air, slowly swaying to the beat of her heart. Krista could tell Rod was interested to see where this would go, how the game would play out and in all honesty she was just as mesmerised by the inner workings of Ymir's brain. Ymir nuzzled the side of her head against Krista's cheek as if she were a cat, those lips still ready to let venom slip past them. "Be ready for a thrill darla"

Ymir threw the cards onto the table still face down as if she were a casino dealer. "all in bitch" a smirk cracked around the cigarette as she finally took a puff of smoke into her lungs. Rod mimicked Ymir's smile, almost too well as he knew he must have won the game. As Rod turned over his cards Ymir allowed the cigarette to fall from her mouth, ash and embers being flung about as it fell, landing on the table and starting a small fire. As the cigarette continued to fall Krista began to as well, launched over onto her back by a sharp shunt from Ymir on her sternum. Everything turned into slow motion as Krista began her decent to the floor. Ymir had already pushed the chair she once sat on away from her and she was leant over under the table, right hand extended ready to receive the pistol that Harold had kicked her way that was hidden in his waist band.

Krista hit the floor just after that, her vision knocked as well as her regard for her own safety.

Ymir's hand wrapped around the pistol as if it were her lover and partner in crime, finger not even struggling to find the trigger. Safety off and bullet in the barrel, fresh clip already loaded.

Harold remained as he always did, expressionless as if what he had done was nothing. Krista was astonished that Harold managed to smuggle a gun into the house, manage to move it from his waistband to the floor without being seen or heard at all as well as manage to keep Rod on the ropes for a long as he did with the god awful cards dealt to him.

Rod was already reaching for his shotgun, index finger switching the safety off, hand enveloping the handle as if he were caressing his private whore's breast. The straps that held the shotgun to the underside of the table were rigged so with enough pressure they would snap in a particular manner to keep the nuzzle upright allowing the user to let off a shot immediately through the middle of the table. Krista came up with this plan herself. Krista was unmoving when she reached the floor, her legs extended in front of her she flattened out her hands behind her for support. The shrapnel from the first shot would disorientate and hopefully injure those playing at the table. Second shot and any after that would be placed in each party.

What they didn't take into account was if there were only one party and they were lower than the table…

Now that Krista was on Ymir's level she saw what she had been planning. As soon as she lit the cigarette her plan was in action, Harold moved the gun and allowed it to slip down his trouser leg, it was once tucked into his boot but now it was out and a slit once concealed was exposed in the side to allow a handgun to be slid down and out without a sound. Smoke was a distraction and nothing more, the display of her knife in the bedroom was to make Krista believe that Ymir wasn't a threat so she would act normal and totally unaware of her plans. Even Krista was surprised by the amount of planning Ymir went about as a backup. She failed to believe that Ymir's first plan was this over a simple card change what she had made very clear she could do very easily to Krista.

Ymir pulled the gun to her left side, right hand on the trigger, left being the support. Her form was militaristic, something that added to the growing pile of evidence that Ymir was experienced with a gun, even the marks Krista noticed earlier aligned with the trigger. Ymir's momentum was still set on going forwards, as she began her ascent she took the weight of the table onto her right shoulder leading into her back.

The first shot. Rod's shotgun went off, bullet shooting into the middle of the table, a rain of wood starting to fall and the ringing still loud in all surrounding ears. The table was still allies with Ymir, as well as shielding her from the rains above it also acted as a battering ram, the shotgun only just being released from is restraints the table took it with it. The table legs on Ymir's sides were clearly off the ground, shotgun barrel being surrounded with daylight, Harold could now see the threat that Ymir put herself in, eyes widening Krista saw the love of a father in action yet he did what he was known for these days, not moving.

The table begun to flip, Rod's hand and arm being forced to twist in a way that kept the shotgun barrel aimed at the ceiling. Second shot again from Rod, Ymir added spin to the table, allowing it to dig into the inside of the elbow joint, straining and moving the tendons away from the skin capsule forcing a contraction to occur resulting in another wasted bullet. A lot of force was put into that spin, must have had help from Harold, Krista concluded too afraid now to move instead of voluntarily remaining seated.

Ymir was close to fully standing by the time the second shot went off, Rod's chair tipping over and the uncontrolled descent started for him, table following suit. Ymir's rotation of the table allowed her to bring her gun to the centre of her person, a burst of energy to her legs resulted in her reaching her full height quicker than what Rod was expecting, the table beginning to move past him but obscuring his vision. Extending her arms to proper shooting position she didn't even care to look purposefully at where she planned to place these bullets that were screaming to be released from their container.

Most shotguns carry two bullets before a reload is required, Rod knew a gang boss who was rather skilled with weaponry, always a third bullet before a reload, always one extra just in case.

One shot followed by the second then the third then the fourth and a distasteful boom in the melody of death. That's all Krista could remember, or that's what she would tell the cops after all the commotion. Krista had the best seat in the house to witness the great Ymir, grunt work Ymir, demonstrate the reason why Krista seemed to think Ymir was older that she really was.

Upon reaching her full height she pulled the trigger, to Krista she was shooting blindly into the wooden table. She could see the table sputter up chips of oak but in reality it was something much more.

The first shot was into Rods left thigh just missing all the major blood vessels, the second into his right shoulder due to a miscalculation on the over swing, the succeeding bullet skimmed the junction between Rod's jaw and ear, Ymir aimed perfectly just enough to splash a little blood into the table above him, she always had an odd taste in artwork. The fourth shot was at Rod's gun; his hand was still gripping the shotgun as he pulled it towards the tall shooter. Bringing her leg up she placed it on the table and shunted it down, pressing it down further onto Rod making sure to keep his vision hidden from him. This shot was the one Ymir was proud of, Krista could tell due to the satisfied hum she let out before the bullet even left the barrel. This bullet traced the shotgun, digging into the wooden shell encasing the metal and then it hit the flesh of rods forearm. This was the most ruthless thing Ymir had planned as soon as she set foot into this dilapidated house. The bullet buried into Rod's arm as Ymir opened her mouth but she was cut short, the boom from the shotgun rung in Ymir's ears, barrel luckily wasn't pointed at her but at Harold. A cascade of lead was flung at Harold's chest and all he could do was _grin?_ Krista began to scream at this point, staring at Ymir to avoid the situation Krista's shoulders went, violently bobbing up and down.

The gun didn't scare her but Ymir did. Krista had witnessed love in Harold's eyes, she knew Ymir could tell the direction of the barrel and she knew that a shot would kill her father yet she mimicked her father perfectly.

She did nothing.

"Now that, Mr Lenz, is very very rude!" Ymir grabbed the barrel of the gun and ripped it out of his bloody grip, throwing it towards Harold. "Y'see the shot I just placed in your arm is one which will kill you. The barrel of a gun has twisted grooves to give bullet spin, you know what that does when it hits your squishy bits?" Ymir moved her foot from the table to Rod's arm, twisting the heel into the mangled wound. "It twists your skin, pulls in other sections, blows out others like a black hole. Your skin goes first, then the fat as that seeps around, blood mixed in there, tendons snapping and being torn, muscle doing the same thing then _bone_." Ymir put the safety on, trailing the barrel of her gun around her waistline, tucking it in at the point where her spine met her pelvis. Bringing her hand around she shook her jacket off, twisting around she walked over to Krista and placed the coat onto Krista's head as if she were a coat hanger.

Returning to Rod she kicked the table away returning vision to him. He groaned in pain and whimpered now and again but Ymir's expression rose when she saw the other side of the table, covered in blood splatter but she quickly got over her admiration and crouched down in front of Rod. Slicking her hair back she let out a sigh. She placed her right hand on Rod's wrist, the other on his shoulder. Pulling them apart she separated the bones apart, blood that pooled filled the gap which she tried to correct by forcing the bones together then apart so the blood over flowed from the wound then allowed the gap to clear just enough to see the bone clearly. "Bone is what keeps up upright, and it's the most fun to see! Bullets just shatter bone, fragments everywhere and tear through you from the inside. Anyway, from this hopefully I've educated you a little bit and now it's time to make that deal! I'll be kind because you kinda had me on the ropes there" I crazed giggle erupted from Ymir before she continued to talk, her eyes fixated on the blood leaking from Rod's wounds as she twisted his arm, tearing the sides as she went. "I'll give you 5% and more of my men will come to visit your girl for that little added bonus. Poker night is going to be a big event for you, and you girlie" she added, making sure to address Krista by twisting her head around with that sinister sadistic grin of hers plastered all over her face. "Shopping list for you, new poker table, I want the old one, more chips, nicer seats and I reserve your little whore for myself right after the game ends. I own her now ok? OH AND MY FUCKING DRIVER YOU CUNT!" she paused, breathing more purposefully in attempt to calm herself down. "You, of all people, shot my best driver!"

"Your driver? I thought he w…" Krista chipped in with her dainty and shaken voice as she removed Ymir's jacket from her head.

"I'm NOT FUCKING ASKING YOU" Ymir snapped. Standing up she stormed towards Krista, grabbing her cheeks painfully, shaking them in rage. "Harold is one of my subordinates and as you can fucking see, your _'daddy'_ shot him" Swizzling around on the balls of her feet she loomed over Rod. "Now sunshine, take my deal and I'll call some of my guys over, we clean up this spilled paint, sort your … whatever this mess is…out, and then ill return every other month for our new poker night. No cops. No ambulance and most importantly for you, no fee!" Ymir extended her hand for Rod to take it, enjoying the fact that if he wanted to shake her hand he would have to use his mangled one.

"Oh fuck!" she said throwing her hands in the air "forgot about that! Silly me!" she crouched down again, took Rod's hand and shook it with enough to let the bone shatter even more. "AND WHORES AND GENTLEBOYS! WE HAVE A DEAL! And you darling, I'll be seeing you soon!" Ymir stood up and stretched her back out. She walked over to Harold's riddled body and pulled out his phone, calling her boss she left.

Krista just sat there, staring at her father hoping Ymir's men got there soon, as much as she hated her father she still loved him in this sick and twisted world. Harold was slumped in the chair he died in. Rod just lay there, the movement of his chest, the up and down reminding Krista she wasn't the only living soul in the house.

Sometimes you don't have to play a card game to win, just choose another game.

One where you make up the rules.


	7. Chapter 7 - Gambling Addiction

**Authors Note** \- Sorry for the unexpected upload and continuation of this fic. I re-read the fic and decided i wanted to keep on going with it. Just wanted to say a huge **thank you** for everyone who has read my work and reviewed etc. It's hugely motivating for me and i appreciate it a hell of a lot.

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Ymir's men arrived an hour later, rod required an urgent blood transfusion so he was transferred somewhere. Krista helped with the clean-up effort, all eyes on her arse as usual but no Rod to force her to do anything which gave her some calm in all of the chaos Ymir created in the matter of 5 minutes.

The room was full of shards of wood, cards scattered everywhere, blood mixed with alcohol beginning to pool in the cracks of the dark wooden floor. The walls were one of the worst part: Apart from the already decaying wallpaper there was now a nice feature of lead sticking out of the wall behind Harold's chair. Harold's body didn't capture all the high velocity projectiles, in fact the majority of them were now lodged in the wall. There was about seven other men in the room with her, all heavily armed and wearing fancy suits. "So lads, are any of you interested in a drink?" Krista's weak voice finding strength as she leant on her foundations. As much as Rod taught her how to get information out of men, she had to decide what songs they sang. The Ymir she met had several sides to her, timid Ymir, gang leader Ymir, player Ymir, loving Ymir. All of them spun Krista's vision of her making her a moving twisting morphing target for the blonde to get a grasp on. Who was she? What does she do? Where did she plant the lies and where did she water the truth?

A couple of grunts from Ymir's subordinates called the blonde to her feet to grab them a drink, something that was undestroyed by shards of lead or other substances. She padded her way over to the kitchen behind to front room, it was mainly undestroyed, only a few segments of the wallpaper were missing and one of the cabinets was no longer on the wall but sprawled on the floor like the village drunkard.

Luck be having it, the one cabinet collapsed on the floor was the one containing all the glassware. Gingerly moving the wood out of the way with her foot she heard the sound of glass rolling over each other, wincing in pain as reflex. Her father would beat her for a spilt drink, knowing the whole set of shot glasses and wine glasses were shattered as much as his body would result in a great purge upon Krista's body. "Fucks sake!" Krista rarely swore, this was a dire situation for the young woman and she knew it. The exasperated sigh that came married to the comment was evident of her despair. She spun on her heals, hair whipping across her face as she did. Blonde locks obscuring her light blue eyes she became the hollow girl she was taught to be. Her eyes were the source of many nicknames John Smiths gave her: 'Ocean, Ice, Sky etc' she had all the cliché names and she wore them all on her sleeve when required to for her survival.

Krista sauntered over to the guard by the door, making sure to cross over the legs to give the appearance of a huntress, maintaining eye contact with the 20ish year old man. His arms where crossed, eyes covered by blackened glasses, a lip piercing altering his mouth into an oddly sinister smirk. As Krista reached the man her arm snaked its way up her body to rest on the man's right shoulder. Dancing her fingertips across the length of his arm and stopped at it was blocked by the other one her eyes stopped following her middle finger and darted into the eyes of the man. She was as close as it got to a snake charmer. The tall man's eyes were fixated on the ballet that Krista's fingers were performing on the sleeve of his jacket. The immediate and unsuspected eye contact caught the man off guard causing him to gulp. "Your boss has a thing against our glassware" a playful giggle aired after the comment which resulted in the guard to reciprocate the playful tone with a small chuckle and a hum of approval. His eyes didn't meet Krista's just yet; they were surveying the valley between her breasts. A small tug on this lapel brought his eyes into submission before Krista continued her charm. "May I borrow your jacket to go grab a couple coffees?" a further tug on the shoulder on his arm, more urgent, a move perfected when undressing customers. The man unfolded his arms slowly, not vocalising anything as he did.

Grabbing Krista's elbows he slammed her back into the wall behind him and moved his hands to either side of her head.

 _Check._

The knee was the next thing to move, the familiar feeling of a covered leg invading the space between her own drowned her body in the feeling she gets when she's running on the lessons beaten into her from a young age. Krista brought the hand that was on the man's shoulder to her hair, coaxing a few unruly strands to behind her ear. Glancing down at her feet in a bashful manner, waiting for the male to speak. She knew the first person to talk lost.

"What if I have other substances in mind which I would like to drink?"

 _Checkmate._

Krista had to fight the urge to cringe. This line was one of the ones she hated. She understood the reference and in all honesty she couldn't remember why she decided to go after this man's jacket to leave. It wasn't too cold out, she couldn't remember the reasoning to go get coffee, she knew these guys would understand that all the cups were in vapour. Maybe it was her way to exert power after Ymir stole a little bit of her dignity as well as converted the centre of her galaxy to revolve around her and her games.

Acting bashful she pulled her shirt down a little in a nervous manner, she glanced at the man for a split second before levelling the 'nerves' and maintaining steady eye contact. "I'll make it worth your time, your friends will have a little break while we slip out for 15 minutes or so and you can have your fun" A smirk grew on the man's face, he removed his hands from the wall and shrugged out of his jacket, holding it open against his chest for Krista to put It on, as she had her back to him he stepped forward, leaning into her he lines his mouth and her ear up, nibbling the back of the lobe he added "Until then _ma Cherie_ " Nuzzling her head back into the man's chest she hummed in 'excitement' before spinning to put her other arm in then she made her way for the already open door.

It wasn't late, it was only about 7 in the evening. It was summer so the daylight was still in its fullest. The jacket draped over her like a limp body. It drowned her and it smelt of cheap cologne with the stench of gunpowder and weed mixed in. The air was humid from the rain earlier but the time spent cleaning up the room allowed the weather to clear up nicely. The walk to the coffee shop was pleasant, more so than usual. Her mind didn't stray from the topic of Ymir, Krista subconsciously attempting to psychoanalyse the woman but to no avail. Kicking stray shards of bricks from local construction residue she still couldn't figure out any side of Ymir but that brought her to more important matters, why the fuck did she say that shed let a guy go down on her for a jacket?

Kicking this one piece of brick as she walked along the pavement she racked her brain to come up with a conclusion, she wasn't a sporadic person at all. Sure Ymir had taken what little power she had but to result in this odd manipulative behaviour which wasn't pushed by her father. It made Krista feel dirtier than life usually did. Maybe it was fear for the future, attempting to get in the good books of someone who may visit her for a little bit of a reprieve. If you could get one from being raped that is. Maybe it was the need to gain information, maybe it was… her train of thought left her when she reached the coffee shop. It was a small place; it was one of those pop up shops but had somehow remained past its sell-by date. It was run by an older lady, she was on the bigger side and always had a cigarette in her mouth. The place stunk but the coffee wasn't half bad.

Krista perked up a little when the woman rose up to the counter. "You alright my love? You look a little perplexed" Nothing got by this woman, Krista chuckled at another failed attempt to hide what was going on in her head to this woman. "I've just been thinking about college and things, I got my GCSE results today and I've done really well so I'm just thinking about how in gonna cope with A-Levels" Krista chirped like a parrot reciting a script which the lady behind the counter could obviously tell was bullshit but she let the matter lie. "What can I get you my dear? Your father ok?"

"He's gone into hospital for a routine check-up so I've got free reign over the house for a couple day which is nice, I can put my feet up." Casual conversation followed a script for Krista, she had everything planned out for every occasion. People didn't know about her 'job' or anything else she had the misfortune of being involved in, to everyone else she was a bright kid with a shitty dad. "And can I get 8 coffee shots to go please?" The woman's eyebrows shot up with the odd order but she tottered off into the back to make the coffee. Krista searched the jacket to see if it had any money in, luckily it did so she wouldn't have to put it on her tab. Coffees on the desk, money exchanged and a quick "congratulations on your good results" followed suit before Krista returned home.

The walk home was a lot different that the walk there. Instead of worrying about the powerhouse of Ymir, and the reasons why she herself seemed out of character. Now she was worrying about the hell she was about to endure. These men were under Ymir, they would be just as ruthless and unforgiving. She knew how these sorts of men worked. Turning the corner to her road she saw more men had arrived at her house. Motorbikes lining the pavement as well as blacked out vans she wondered what the hell was about to happen. Unsure if she wanted to quicken her pace or turn round and say she got caught up talking. Eventually she decided to calm her breathing, straighten her spine and attempt to gain control of the situation. Now walking forward with more purpose she reached her front garden and braced herself for what things like this usually ended in.


	8. Chapter 8 - Rigged Game

Just gonna give you guys a trigger warning. This is pretty dark, even by my standards...

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The door was now missing from the door frame; the windows being smashed in. All the noise began to make Krista panic. The man by the door was missing, in fact all these faces were unfamiliar to her.

She walked through the front room undetected and lay the cups of coffee onto the kitchen surfaces before being spotted by a new man in a suit. His eyes scoured her form before resting on her face, his eyebrows threatening to look alarmed as he approached the girl slowly, opening his jacket a little so the holster of his sidearm was showing. Krista had only ever been approached like this once before, but something was different about this. Of course she knew that the mans end result wasn't to end up in bed with her, his eyes screamed he wanted a fight but not with her, he just seemed like an 'ordinary' man doing his job, which Krista guessed was security.

"Madam I'm going to have to ask you to leave." His voice low and threatening with a hint of apprehension stuck behind his tongue.

"What's going on here? I was here only a few minutes ago I left to grab some coffee and now you're stripping the house down?" Krista adopted the dumb blonde persona to make sure she didn't give this man any reason to get aggressive with her. She had just avoided the bullet with the other guard not being anywhere to be seen. The man was just short of being twice the height of Krista, long brown beard and a jacket matching the one Krista had hanging off her shoulders. "Were moving you outta here. This place is a death trap and Ymir would prefer knowing the place he was running looked nice and tidy, a good reputation and not being a shithole with a whore in it." As much as the last comment seemed uncalled for she knew that she had to take it on the chin, pucker up and smile. "Do you need any help? I've got 7 coffee shots still hot ready if anyone wants any, the one on the end is empty, I had it on the way home"

"There are several boxes in your room, put your shit in them and well load them up. You'll have to meet us as the address, Ymir specifically told me you were to make your own way there."

"Define _the address_ for me?" As soon as the comment left Krista's mouth a punch was inbound for her face. It wasn't a sissy punch either, some men would never hit a woman with their full strength but apparently this man didn't get that lesson. The G force exerted on her head was huge, enough to make her eyes spin. They were relatively close to the wall when the man hit her full on leading to her head being cushioned by the bare brick wall. It was the kind of hit that would result in a hell of a lot of swelling and a black eye. Maybe it would stop too many people finding her attractive so less people would visit her during the night but then she realised that Ymir wasn't the type of person who would have a subordinate impair her plans. That hit must have been one to make what ever happened to her in the next two months as painful as possible. "Don't get fucking cocky with me bitch, I'll tell you where it is when you need to know. Now go upstairs and pack your fucking stuff you little whore." Krista averted her eyes pretty quickly after that and her feet were already on automatic, fleeing from the man upstairs to her room. She pondered about the idea of a new place to live, new neighbours. Anywhere else would be a nicer place to live. She hated to admit but Ymir would take care of her, she was a commodity in this business and she wouldn't be too badly mistreated.

Hopefully.

The room still had Ymir's scattered bandages littering the carpet, complementing the curtains nicely. Krista didn't possess much. Most teenage girls had lots of clothes, books, and DVDs but Krista didn't own any of that. Sexualised clothes and undergarments were all she really owned. She hid her pens and pencils away as well as her school books. Her father found them once, he used then as kindling. Apparently Krista should have memorised all the information by now, daddy's little servant needs to keep up with the men's language. All of her things filled up two of the five boxes given to her. That in itself made her feel very much alone. She was purely an object to be sold, no identity of her own she was like the last Russian doll of the set but all the others were stolen away from her. It was at that moment that she realised that she still had on the jacket given to her earlier by the creepy security guard. Checking it further for anything else she could claim as hers: a gold plate lighter, few spare bullets and £50. Better than what she already had. Storing the items into the box filled with her clothing she slid the jacket off of her being before neatly folding it up and placing it in a separate box. The man would be wanting his jacket back, she was sure she could get away with keeping the items from it, she'd say that there was never anything in it. She managed to pull that trick once before rewarding her with a nice £200 and a black eye but from her point of view she could use some money of her own, have some fun at college, buy some new pens. Treat herself.

A knock on the door alarmed her for a split second before remembering it wouldn't be her father. Knocks on the door usually meant a beating or a new customer for her to please, in this instance it was the tall man from before. He seemed to have calmed down a little from before, he was still agitated but nothing as bad as he was. "Have you packed? We're about to load up the second van." He mumbled, looking at his feet, and taping his fingers against the wooden doorframe. Krista wondered why there sudden change in his character, from being very intimidating to the one who seemed intimidated. She stumbled her response, her brain still working on unwinding his change until she heard a familiar voice. _Ymir_.

She was downstairs, on the phone. Idle conversation rung in Krista's ears reminding her that there was always someone above her, someone to rule her world. The unelected king of her lands. "madam? I need to take them boxes from you" the taller man was looming over her again but simply to collect her belongings to throw into the back of a van. Shuffling to the side she allowed a feeble apology to slip past her lips before her eyes began to focus on her surroundings and not on the conversation that was going on down the stairs. She could only hear the odd "fuck" or "bastard" Ymir apparently swore like a sailor. The boxes moving out of her vision she was left in an empty room apart from a used bed and fraying bandages, a monument of all her sins it would appear.

It took her 5 minutes to regain control of her body, her mind still unwrapping ideas and pulling apart theories on the 'King' a floor below her. The swearing had slowed down and the sound of glass being smashed had ceased its echoing. She was left in silence and the sounds of footsteps, the usual sound of her house at night. She never slept well and was well accustomed to every star at night. Most men would never be in her bed late at night, they were always home in time for the wife or other sort of lover, one of more legitimate standing.

Another knock at the door, this time it was a knock after the door was opened. Assuming it was the same man again she didn't make effort to check who it was, she didn't care at this moment in time, nothing was going on and with Ymir being in the house nothing too shocking would occur. The place almost seemed lawful. No words left the persons mouth as they closed the door behind them, that was the first warning sign. Krista knew that if someone were entering assuming they were going to move a box out of it they would leave the door open, closing would be a wasted effort and counterproductive. Second warning was a heavy thud with each placement of a foot as they walked further into the room. A woman would be lighter on her feet. Whipping her head around as a hand rested in her hair a smile was what she faced when she met the man who intruded her thinking.

It was the creep guard and her heart dropped. "Well hello pretty little thing, I believe we have some unfinished business. The name is Jake if you're wondering what to call out. Women have said I'm very good with my tongue."

Krista just had to accept what was going to happen, it was just the reality of the situation. Her odd behaviour, her attempt to gain some power over Ymir, regain something, anything back had dawned on her that she was just giving her power away to someone else, not keeping it for herself. she attempted to move to her feet and lie down on her bed but the grip in her hair got tighter, forcing her head to remain level with the man's waist.

Keeping a grip in her hair, Jake's other hand found the buckle of his belt and slid it from around his waist. Walking around Krista he made sure to keep his grip firm, to cause the correct amount of pain to keep her still. "I'm going to need a little bit of warming up before I do anything though." Couching down he let out a small sigh, the air movement on Krista's neck caused the hairs there to stand on end. Her hands were trailed behind her and tied together with the belt, still warm. "You bite down you're beaten, Ymir said no one was to kill you, beating and torturing weren't mentioned so I'll take free reign with that lack of instruction."

Jake rounded the now shacking Krista, his index finger gliding over her jaw line, memorising the curves of the bone before camping his hand down, fixing her jaw to allow him to violate her as much as he wanted. Each button pop was a second closer to Krista being forced into something she was always forced to do; she was on her knees in front of this man, a man who held her head in a vice like grip as he peeled away the layers covering himself.

Freeing his cock from its restraints Krista could see the glistening of pre-cum dripping from the tip, the man knew this as well as he drew her head closer, using it as a new lipstick. The man had a sickening smile plastered to his face and Krista met eyes with the man. She had seen this sight a million and one times before, she was supposed to smile and look grateful so she did, hoping that this man would finish quickly so she could get out of the house as quickly as possible. As the man began to bury himself in her mouth Krista pulled her lips over her teeth to shield his 'manhood'. Fighting her gag reflex she ran her tongue along the shaft, putting pressure on all the placed men liked as the tip hit the back of her throat. The man's grip began to relax here and there, his eyes rolling ever so slightly every time he thrust in and hit the back of her mouth. He held himself when he was fully surrounded in the heat of little Krista's mouth, grip tightening in her hair becoming increasingly more painful before he became maddened, thrusting violently causing the girl to take even more than before, gagging sounds after ever stroke but the man didn't slow his pace, he picked it up. Guessing he was close to release she moved her tongue to catch the bottom of the tip and roll off the top to catch the drops of pre-cum. All Krista could taste was sour liquid, a taste she was very familiar with but it was never pleasant.

The door once again opened and there was nothing for Krista to do to cover herself, whoever walked in got a wonderful view of her doing what she was known to do; Jake didn't seem to notice at all. "You better swallow all he's got to give you" The figure commented, bored almost as they leaned against the frame of the door, not bothering to close the door behind them.

"Fuck! Boss!" the man stopped his hip movements but remained inside Krista's welcoming mouth. He was a horny doe caught in the headlights and he didn't have a clue on how to get himself out of this situation. It was obvious Krista didn't want to be there.

"I know what these whores are like, they tease and tease you then expect you to pay. Blue balls are a killer, sometimes you've just gotta take what you need right boy? Finish up, shell swallow, she's a good little bitch, she knows her place." Ymir commented, folding her arms, preparing for a show. Krista's eyes met Ymir's, pleading, begging for a get out of jail free card but she was dead set in watching the torment of this girl. The sound and smell of sex filled the room. The man came quickly and violently, cum forcing its way into Krista's mouth, leaking down past her lips. As he pulled out Ymir approached rather cautiously, Jakes eyes fixated on the mess he made of poor Krista. With Krista's hands still bound she couldn't do anything about the cum as it trickled past her jaw and onto her shirt. Jake released his grip and wiped his cock with the bottom of Krista's shirt before putting it back in his pants. As soon as he was covered Ymir placed her hand on his shoulder in a congratulatory manner. Krista's eyes moved from Jake to Ymir, attempting to figure out what would happen from here on out.

The obsidian blade immerged again, moving too quick to see. Ymir used the left hand on Jake's shoulder to keep him still whilst her right was hurtling towards him. The blade pierced Jakes right eye, just enough to puncture the whole eye and tickle the skull behind it but not to kill him. Screaming was now the sound of the room, blood soon overpowering the smell of cum. Ymir pulled downwards on the man's shoulder, sending him backwards as his hands attempted to shield his eye. As he fell Ymir pulled the blade away, bringing with it a small stream of black ooze from the inside of Jake's eye. Blood was leaking profusely from his open wound and when he hit the ground, the sudden jerk made some of the blood leap from his now empty eye socket and onto Krista's shirt.

Ymir continued her path of violence by ruthlessly kicking the man in the face, blood spraying everywhere, especially over Krista. Krista flinched with every hit, tilting her head away to avoid getting blood in her eye. Ymir stilled after she landed a few kicks in quick succession. Jake was still conscious, his screams turning into whimpers. He was lay on his side, curling up into a ball to protect himself from further harm but Ymir wasn't done yet. Using her foot to roll him onto his back she stood over him, couching down and begun to straddle his stomach, taking extra care no not touch his crotch. Krista's eyes were now fixed on Ymir's face; she was almost a different person. She was the devils incarnate. She had so many sides to her, damning her in one moment, conducting Krista's revenge the next. Grabbing the man's face she got up in his vision, moistening her lips before she spoke. "Listen here son" She adjusted her position, drawing the knife up the man's arm, lightly pressing down as she dragged the blade parallel to Jake's tendon. "You _dare_ violate my property whist I am in the vicinity. If you want to fuck her, you _pay_ and you _fuck her_ where I _allow you_ to fuck her." Ymir was an angry calm. She oozed fury but her face would say otherwise. She looked as if she were making an important business decision. Spitting in the man's face she stood up and a smile grew on her face, not a maddened one, the smile you give a stranger in the street, reassurance that you're not going to rob them or stab them. Ymir was very good at giving this smile as Krista responded without even realising it.

Krista could feel the silence that needed to be filled but none of them felt comfortable to fill it. Ymir circled the blonde and untied her, giving her a helping hand up. Rubbing the area on her wrists where they were bound Krista's eyes searched for Ymir's, hoping that they were easy to read or give some hint into what this woman was thinking.

"Number 10, Hilltop Crescent. That's your new address." Stern and sinister Ymir was back, the smile fell from grace and turned into a scowl. Krista jumped at the sound of a voice, it was so foreign as the words fell across her ears. Ymir could see the physical jump and glanced down before resting her eyes on Krista's face. "I'll drive you, consider that his payment for your services in petrol money."

Krista just nodded, the thought of her getting a ride to the other side of town for being sexually assaulted as compensation seemed ludicrous if you were in the real world but in hers, she knew it was the best thing she would get out of the situation.


	9. Chapter 9 - Slot Machine

Krista followed Ymir down the stairs as she wiped the blood from her face, no words to be had except Ymir saying that Jake had had a nasty accident to one of the guards the blonde didn't recognise. A flurry of footsteps could be heard by the time they reached the front door, a couple of "Holy shit!" and other swear words were just barely audible but Krista heard them clear enough.

The way Ymir moved when she attacked the other man was something of pure precision, it was almost calculated and practiced like an intricate dance. She switched from being a 'bro' to ruthlessly attacking one of her men. She seemed psychotic and dangerous.

As soon as fresh air entered Ymir's lungs she seemed as if she were rejuvenated. She didn't face the smaller blonde as she spoke but Krista didn't care, she was still trying to remove the images of blood and pain from her mind. "This is my ride here, you'll have to wear a helmet, I'll take one of the lad's that should fit your little pea head." Ymir quickened her pace after that, heading to one of the vans before pulling out a matt black motorbike helmet. Krista was still heavily concentrated on not falling down the curb of the pavement when the helmet hit her chest. Flailing her hands to catch it Ymir chuckled as the helmet bounced from hand to hand then a slow clap emerged when she stilled the helmet. "I've never been on a motorbike before" Krista admitted quietly, luckily Ymir heard her and closed the space between them. "It's rather simple my dear" Ymir grabbed Krista's hip and began to sway them as she did with her own. Krista held the helmet in-between them to stop Ymir from being too close, somewhere where she couldn't see her hands, who knew what this woman would do with one wrong move. "lean when I lean, move when I move. Hold my waist like the men hold you and you'll be nice and safe" Krista could feel the calm in Ymir's words, they held no ulterior motive, they seemed filled with genuine care like she was after they slept together. "oh, and take my jacket, it's got armoured shoulders, elbows and the rest, y'know, all that good stuff." She removed her hands from the smaller woman's waist, shrugging the jacket off she held it open as Jake did for her. At first she was apprehensive and Ymir could clearly see this on her face. "I'm not him, I know I can do things that seem … irrational but there is always as reason for everything." As much as Krista wanted to be reassured it didn't help her but she knew she had to agree. If Ymir knew she was irrational then she was aware of the brutal things she was doing and was in full control when doing it, it _was_ purposeful. Krista quickly spun into the jacket, appreciating the feeling of the metal plates against her joints. "Don't worry about me gorgeous, I can see your thought process. If I get hurt nothing bad will happen to you, I'm choosing to give you my jacket and I will suffer the consequences should anything unfortunate occur." Ymir took her chin and looked her in the eye as she spoke, it was slow and careful. It was as if she were talking right into her soul, attempting to soothe it of its pain, it warmed Krista's heart a little, forgetting who this person was and replacing it with a sense of someone who truly cared. "Now put that helmet on your noggin' and let's get you home." Ymir ruffled Krista's blonde locks before buttoning up the jacket that was a little oversized for the petite woman.

Ymir's bike was a classic Harley Davidson. It was a beauty of a motorbike, cruising along the streets was a blast and Krista could see the addictive nature of these metal stallions. The evening chill was digging its claws into Krista's fingertips, growing up her arms but the heat from Ymir's back radiated through the jacket and onto Krista's skin. It was an odd sensation for the blonde, being so close to another human and feeling the warmth and appreciating it, it wasn't at a price or any hidden agenda, it was just the human body leaking its heat and Krista being close enough to benefit from it. As Ymir shifted up a gear the low hum of the engine turned into a powerful roar which echoed from the surrounding buildings, the sun was far from setting but Krista could imagine being on the back of this engine and going to the local viewpoint to watch the sun go down.

After every pleasant though of this… even Krista didn't know what to call Ymir. She never specified what she did apart from grunt work. She obviously had bosses but she had subordinates. Krista settled on the idea that Ymir was a mobster. Every pleasant thought of Ymir the Mobster Krista mentally slapped herself. She was intrigued by the woman and the power she held but she knew if she were to be enticed by the flames she would become the fuel for it to grow, killing her in the most painful manner. The streets were relatively quiet, only a few other vehicles shared the road with them. Ymir's helmet was very ornate, it had metal workings with traditional Japanese patterns flowing from the visor to the back. Her visor was blacked out which she wore down. It was at times like these that Krista wanted to spark up conversation, find a little bit more out about the mysterious woman but the chances of being heard, let alone a flowing conversation on the back of a loud motorbike were nearby impossible. Krista just settled for the body heat and the enjoyment of the environment surrounding them. Krista used to live in the derelict part of town but Ymir was speeding through the wealthier parts of town. More business offices and restaurants amongst the several skyscrapers and tattoo parlours.

A foreign gust of wind caught Krista off guard causing her to lean a little too much on a turn causing the bike to begin to jerk from underneath the rider. Krista's grip on Ymir's waist was more panicked and Ymir could tell. Ymir slowed her breathing to allow Krista's hands to not be moved around by the movement of her ribs. Ymir leant to meet Krista's movements, as much as the bike attempted to slide from underneath them Ymir kept the bike under her and her control. Ymir brought her right knee down as they turned the corner, her knee made contact with the road just long enough to stabilise themselves and turn the corner fully. When they levelled out Krista regained her balance and held Ymir a little closer than before. Originally it made Ymir flinch at the sudden pressure on her stomach as Krista's arms wrapped themselves a little further around her torso but she relaxed into it pretty quickly.

It wasn't long after that Krista saw the road sign where her new home would be. During the entire time Ymir didn't stop riding, she didn't bother stopping for red lights, she just ploughed straight through them. She wondered why she didn't stop until she saw a small piece of fabric wave in the wind. It was part of Ymir's trousers where her knee would be… at first Krista thought nothing of it until Ymir pulled up outside number 10 where she parked up the bike and put it on the stand.

The house was the biggest one on the street, must have been worth just short of a million, the place was huge. The building was made with red brick with vines and flowers growing up the sides, a small garage for the Lenz's inexistent car. The curtains were drawn and there was just one van outside the house. The lights were on inside but she guessed not many people were in. She knew for sure her father wouldn't be home anytime soon unless Ymir thought it would be funny to keep Rod there and treat him in the new house. Krista popped of the helmet and slipped the jacket from her shoulders to give back to Ymir but she noticed what the cause of the rip in her trousers was. The place she leant down to stop Krista from being bucked off the bike was bare, her skin ripped and peeling back. The bone was showing and grit and parts of road detritus was stuck in the wound. Ymir hadn't taken off her helmet, she was still sat on the bike with the engine running in the background. Blood was tricking down from the wound and being soaked up by the remnants of her trousers. Krista looked alarmed and her eyes shot to where Ymir's would be to see how much pain she was in but all she could go by was the up and down motion of her chest. Ymir was good at controlling her breathing, given the fact that she had her flesh whittled down to the bone and she held her breath without a minor hitch or sound was ludicrous to think about. That's when something in Krista clicked. She had done that to stop her from falling from the Harley.

Ymir raised a shaky hand to raise her visor whilst resting her foot on the pavement to stretch out the bad leg. Just that small motion caused a lot of blood to rush out of the wound reminding Krista of Jake's face. "Home safe and sound as promised" Ymir chirped, ignoring the warm pool of liquid congregating outside of her body. "Nuh Uh Ymir, you are not leaving in that state. You saved my butt and I seriously hurt you. I don't care if you want me to pay you back for business investments lost or whatever, the least I can do if attempt to stop the bleeding and dress the would so your leg isn't too badly mangled and infected." Krista's stern tone forced one of Ymir's brows upward and her eyes to scrunch up. "I recommend you change your tone. You're just a slut and nothing more." Words were Ymir's venom and the pent up frustration at herself allowed her to only produce weaponised communication but Krista wasn't deterred. The daring side of Krista returning as she attempted to assume some authority over the brunette. Was this her taking power back or her foolishness shining though again. Even Krista didn't know the answer.

Ymir began to move her hand to pull the visor back down but Krista's torso was blocking the handlebars as she leant over the bike to grab the keys. Ymir stopped her actions swiftly and grabbed the blonde's hips in attempt to pull her away from the keys which ended up aiding Krista's escape with them. As much as Ymir attempted to resist the urge to smile and let out a small chuckle she fell short of accomplishing the resistance of it, or hiding it behind her helmet. Her hands, still shaking, fumbled for the chin strap which was also unsuccessful. Krista could sense a trap so she shoved the keys into her bra. She knew Ymir would go after them if needs be but Krista saw the glimmer in the mobsters eyes that begged for a chase but for it to also be unsuccessful.

Krista aided in releasing Ymir from the constraints of her helmet and allowed a small giggle to air itself at the state of Ymir's helmet hair. Ymir's eyes were ablaze in pain but her face was like stone. Krista fed the helmets onto her left arm whilst ducking under Ymir's right to grip her waist and assist her into the house. Ymir grumbled at first but a sigh of relief left her mouth when she tested putting her body weight on the limb but stumbled into Krista's supporting frame. "Come on, lets get you patched up"


	10. Chapter 10 - Fraying Cards

**Author's Note:** **_Thank you guys_** for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following this story and my others, its hugely motivating for me to keep writing, college is pretty hectic and i'm applying for university etc so having the motivation to keep writing dwindles now and again and the reviews really keep me going! If you want some other cool stories check out **AlexaDawn98** (Sorry for the advertisement they're my partner so i have to promote their amazing stories too.)

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The walk up to the front door was a lot more extravagant than her old house. The garden was ornate and had several statues in it, one of an angel, a samurai and a couple animals and a nice water feature. It was well above anything her father could afford and guessed it was all Ymir's doing. That was the most terrifying part. This woman had this much money to splash out on some business venture. It appeared that Ymir intended to make Krista mainstream as well as their poker nights.

A sudden twang fell from her heart and into the pit of her stomach. Ymir must have known Krista would break 'the rules' and sentence her to more work and make her life a living hell. The woman was so fucking complicated and twisted but she was a genius. Everything seemed to go according to a plan, her plan and it worked like clockwork.

Passing through the lush grass and its stone protectors Krista had to allow Ymir to collapse through the door so she could get through herself, Ymir wasn't very impressed at all and groaned in complaint but when her men, who were occupying the house, stormed into the hallway she quickly told them to calm down and no harm was done. Ymir's subordinates attempted to lend her a hand up but she swatted their hands away and told them to pack their things away and never speak of this. That's when Ymir's eyes pierce into Krista's, expecting something of her but Krista didn't know what. She gingerly closed the distance between her and offered her hand up hoping this is what she wanted but instead she pulled her down with her.

They were both on the floor, the blood still leaking from Ymir's wound and now soaking into Krista's clothing as well as her own. Ymir pulled the petite woman closer to her, almost a gruesome embrace but Krista remained frozen in apprehension and confusion. Krista's eyes were rapidly moving from Ymir's eyes to her hand and down to her leg then they repeated the cycle only to be interrupted by Ymir rolling on top of her. Supporting her bodyweight above her she leant down unexpectedly and lines up their mouths. The hair from Ymir's clip began to fall loose and caress Krista's cheeks.

Still frozen, Krista's eyes followed their cycle religiously. Ymir held herself as if she were about to do press-ups but she allowed her injured limb to hang just off the cold wooden surface of the floor. The few stands that tickled the skin on Krista's face drew her attention for one split second, just long enough for Ymir to close the gap between them, bending her arms at the elbow, skilfully angling her head to avoid the clashing of noses.

Krista had been taken on the floor several times before, it always started out this way but something was different, it was as if Ymir was dragging it out as much as possible before the removal of clothing occurred, sure she was injured and would be unwilling to be so quick to bare her own skin but not the woman's beneath her. Krista's eyes remained open the entire time, staring at Ymir's as they fluttered closed as she alternated the position of her head. The twisting motion was common amongst a long kiss, keep both parties interested but the way Ymir furrowed her eyebrows in a manner that would only be found in the recipient of such a kiss, not the one who was giving it forced Krista's eyes to stop their routine and focus on the kiss. Her hands finding Ymir's biceps she pushed up a little, taking some of the weight off them, attempting to ease her suffering. Ymir audibly inhaled rather sharply at the sudden pressure on her arm causing Krista to retreat her arms to the safety of her sides. With Krista's eyes now shut she could only go by her senses which were on over-drive due to the adrenaline rush she was receiving after being bled on by the woman who was now ravaging her mouth.

Ymir straightened her arms once more and moved her right hand to cradle Krista's left cheek. To accompany the warmth on her face Ymir snaked her tongue out and attempted to ask for entrance which was denied by Krista nipping at her bottom lip. It was a playful nip and Ymir understood the intent for which Krista was grateful for. Krista's courage returned to her as her trailed her hands up Ymir's arms and moved her jacket from her shoulder which led to the taller woman removing the jacket rather hastily and throwing it against the wall behind Krista's head. Something about that caused Ymir to remember that the front door was open. Transferring her weight onto her right arm she used her left foot to push the door closed before she asked for permission to deepen the kiss again.

All the commotion of the jacket hitting the wall and the sudden closure of the door brought the attention of the guards in the house. There was only three of them all which entered the foyer area at once, guns drawn and combat stances adopted quickly.

At this moment in time Ymir was happily mapping out the inside of Krista's mouth with her tongue until the 'lads' showed up. She released Krista for a spilt second, raising her head away from the blonde. "Get. The. Fuck. Out. Now! It'd be like having sex in front on my dog" Krista noted what Ymir's neck looked like as she spoke. The power rattled through her like a Greek god and her Adam's apple was more prominent than she ever seen on another female but she guessed that she had never seen enough women's necks like this before so she wouldn't have a comparison apart from her own. Ymir seemed as if she were built for her role, whatever it was. The men quickly put down their arms without a question and left quickly. Ymir knew that she couldn't move from that position as all the blood was on the floor, so she began to unbutton Krista's shirt. By this simple act the men didn't dare talk to her or ask her to move, they just scurried to the corners of the room and slid out of the door.

As each man passed her by they all stared at what Ymir was doing with her hands, they could see each button be torn off, they could see each inch of her skin be revealed until the door obscured their vision.

As soon as the click of the door being shut rang in their ears Ymir rolled off Krista and lay like a starfish on the floor. She was panting and her chest was moving at a worrying rate. Krista was unfamiliar with the new house but she knew she needed to drag Ymir to somewhere warm and somewhere she could rest. The colour from Ymir's face was quickly draining and the red stain became a deeper shade by the minute. Krista tore off her shirt to finish what Ymir was doing, she got the hint from her as soon as she undid the first button rather hastily.

At first Krista thought Ymir would fuck her senseless by the door to have revenge for her knee but soon cottoned on to her plan. She was in too much pain to do anything 'worthwhile' to Krista and the fact her men were in the house was a grave mistake. Any sight of blood and they would assume that the 'whore' retaliated and her head would no longer contain her brain.

Kissing, and the attempt to deepen it, was her pain relief and her excuse for the men to leave without being suspicious. Kissing produces increased levels of oxytocin, a natural painkiller and should have enough to get her through her men leaving and enough for a little bit after before she passed out from pain. Krista knew the blood loss would get her first but Krista was amazed by Ymir and her quick thinking. The fact that she began to tear at Krista's shirt was also part of the plan. What do you do to reduce bleeding? You cover it with a clean cloth, Krista's shirt was the closest thing to her at the time.

Ymir began talking to herself, something about the couch and forget the bloodstains. Wrapping her shirt around Ymir's wound the brunette jerked forwards, placing her hand on top of Krista's as if she were pleading for forgiveness. "You'll be ok. I've got you." Krista playing nurse was rare but something she had perfected. Sometimes it was for excitement purposes, sometimes Rod came home with a shattered jaw. Krista removed her hands from the mobster's knee, leaving the cold feeling on Ymir's hands where the blonde's used to be.

The foyer forked out, a door leading right, one left and the stairs straight on. Darting her head in either rooms of the ground floor she found a couch but let out a chuckle due to the irony of the situation. A below five-foot girl attempting to drag a just below six-foot injured woman onto a sofa. Krista knew she wouldn't be able to lift her but she knew she would have to drag her; Ymir could do the quick shuffle onto the sofa. Grabbing Ymir by the back of her shirt she dragged her into the left room. It was all cream except the smooth brown carpet which hid the blood trail nicely. This house, from Krista saw of it just screamed Ymir: monotone colours but sophisticated, large chairs and coat hangers. Krista could tell it was meant for business.

As soon as Ymir was close enough to the nearest leather sofa she made a quick jump up and then very quickly collapsed without a word. Her hands fell limp and cascaded from the side of the sofa releasing the shirt from her wound. Krista could see the significant change in blood flow but she was still slowly bleeding out, she knew she would have to cover the wound and call 999 but she knew this wasn't under normal circumstances. She knew with people like this you never call an ambulance, they ask questions, she knew that Ymir couldn't be caught with a wound otherwise she would have let her men see and they could help.

Krista walked over to the kitchen which was joined to the new front room, this was very modern with granite surfaces and black-and-white photos of New York or London. The men that were in the house were unpacking things from vans, boxes littered the sides of the room but some were empty and the kitchen cabinets were fully stocked. The good old green first aid kit was to hand as well.

Krista had only dealt with Rod and his battle wounds but nothing like this, fumbling with the bandages and the painkillers all the memories of taping up broken fingers, battered noses, and broken legs returned to her. She paused for a second, glancing over at Ymir as she begun to regain consciousness, allowing a small smile collect on her face. Once again they ended up in some odd situation and the fleeting feeling of being lovers washed over her. As Krista approached the woman on the sofa a low mumbling became more audible, a few numbers rattled past her ears but nothing coherent. "Come on you hopeless woman" Krista overpowered the mumbling as she perched on the side of the sofa with bandages and sterilisers, in fact as Ymir interjected she "brought the whole goddamn infirmary"

Krista cleaned the wound, set it in place to make sure if anything was broken it would at least be aligned, bandaged it up and swiftly delivered pain relief before Ymir could make any sexual comments. The silence didn't last very long after that though. Ymir rolled over to make more room for the blonde to comfortably sit down. "So, where did you learn to patch up a crook like me eh?" Even in pain the woman always found a way to start a conversation and make it seem as if she flirting with every syllable that glided out of her mouth. Ymir poked Krista's side playfully when she didn't respond and let out a playful giggle when she found out that Krista was at least a little bit ticklish on her side. "My Dad was never very smart at the beginning of using his daughter as a commodity…" Krista wrapped her hands around each other and twiddled her thumbs, she never had anything 'light' to say. Everything about her world was filled with black and thickening shadows, every word out of her mouth since the age of 7 has been catered to whoever was listening. "I understand, I'm sorry I shouldn't have brought it up."

Here was the kind and caring Ymir again. The mind fuckery at play again. One minute she was telling her to be a good whore and she was worthless and she would let her get raped then the next was taking serious injury for her, risking her life to keep her from harm. Talk about a split personality this woman had two complete polar opposites. "Hey Krista? Can I apologise?" Ymir snaked her hand onto Krista's, tugging her lightly to get her to lie down with her. "I-I am not a nice person, I should have let my men stay and them take care of me but you understand the business I run right? I can't be seen off my feet or have any weakness." Once the words filled the silence in between what Krista thought and what Ymir said the blonde's body relaxed and gave into Ymir's voiceless demand. Lying down she contemplated all the things Ymir could have apologised for but she chose to tell her she was sorry for bleeding everywhere and asking Krista to clean it up instead of all the countless other things which were miles worse.

Ymir offered her arm as a pillow for the petite girl to rest her head on, which she did. They seemed to fit perfectly. As Krista guided her smaller frame into ideal spooning position Ymir's other arm snaked around her waist and rested innocently on her stomach, ever so slightly stroking the bare skin there with her thumb out of boredom. "I'll forgive you on one condition…" Krista didn't mean it to come out as harsh as it sounded but it got Ymir's attention enough to stop her idle hand movement for a split second. Krista was now stuck for words, realising she needed to make her request count and find something out about this woman of countless mysteries, and she was on the clock. "Tell me this one condition then short stuff, if you're wondering about my work out routine it's called having _lots_ of sex with a strap-on, different girl every night. Doggie style tends to work the abs out perfectly." Krista couldn't tell if the woman was joking, if she was it sounded more like a funny story that she experienced than something she made up on the spot. It was all too real, the way they encountered each other at first at the poker game. Ymir knew what she was doing, all the right messages to give out, how to intrigue a girl even though the money usually would have been enough. The thought of Ymir having another short blonde bouncing up and down on her lap disgusted Krista, the thought of someone who seemed to show the slightest speck of care showing doing the exact same to every other whore on the street. It was just another lie she told, just another dream dashed, just another lock on the door. Ymir began to chuckle after the remark bring Krista back from her interrupted thinking, a lump in her through amalgamating in rage and disappointment, at herself for feeling like she was let down my another John Smith, at Ymir for proving she was another one of her father's customers and nothing more.

Krista now had a new agenda, she knew she had to obtain information about something she could use against her if she needed to. Something she could black mail her with apart from her being female, something that would sting when the words became compressions in the air.

"Tell me about your childhood Ymir."


	11. Chapter 11 - Credit History

The arm around Krista suddenly felt more like a chain than a human. Turning from something of warmth and safety into the safety only found behind prison doors. Ymir took a deep breath in and let out a quiet sigh before releasing the pressure around Krista, both physically and mentally. Krista took this as a good sign and attempted to entwine their fingers to give her the "lovers" feel to encourage her to talk.

"What parts do you wanna know?" Ymir almost sounded sleepy, drained of blood, Krista realised she probably was about to faint again. Gripping her hand tighter in attempt to get her to understand Krista was asking for her to tell her everything. With a quick squeeze to her hand and a grumble the story started.

"I- Um was born just outta Phoenix, Arizona. My parents are both Native Americans hence my cheek bones. I grew up on a reservation. Huh there's a funny story… All the kids at night would go out and steal hood ordainments from the 5 ish cars and swap them around, it was like our version of chess. Erm… my family was very poor, we had a car which didn't work so what we had to do to get to school was roll it down the hill then my Pops would get our neighbours to tow it back to our house. Moving on… the reservation was poor, in fact everyone on it were, are so my parents tried to move out and into the city but we ran into some trouble with the law bla bla bla my Pops had a prison sentence for 5 years so we were stuck in the reservation for an extra couple of years. Being just my Ma and myself we had to find a way to make ends meet. I was about… ooh about eight or nine years old when he went away. During the time he was behind bars the water companies were out to use the springs and put chlorine in it to sell it back to us, I do love me the western capitalist stronghold. So with no water or money I joined the local gang, I was only small and innocent so I used to smuggle drugs and guns in and out of the reservation. My mother thought I was collecting cans to sell the metal bless her pure heart, she was so oblivious to the whole criminal empire I was helping to run. When my father was out, we left with a good amount of money. We went to California and opened a casino. Turned out my father had met a guy on the inside who owned a casino and he wasn't getting out for a long time so he gave it to my father. By the time he took over, the place was run down and mobsters were lining up to take it over. I was fourteen going fifteen when the casino became popular, increasingly wealthier customers would arrive and the more intense the games. When I turned fifteen my father told me to forget being female, he had seen the shit given to them by people in the 'business' as he put it. Better to be the man at the top than the woman at the bottom."

"Ymir? How old are you?"

"Nineteen, I moved over here in the new year so about 8 months ago."

"You have a perfect Northern accent"

"When you are selling a business idea people trust those they can relate to. So ill fake male and ill fake an accent well to get what I'm after. I'm willing to do anything to support my family and the ones I care for back in the reservation." A thick American accent broke the British air and took Krista by surprise by the difference, it was as if she were talking to a different person. She was about an octave lower than she already was which should be physically impossible for a female but Ymir did it. It was husky and sounded muscular.

"Back on track… I stared binding my chest and wearing 'men's' clothing and I started hosting some games. I got pretty good at deciding when to win and when to lose, one night I was approached by some men in suits and told me all about my father. So I learnt my father was the boss of this gang. A huge criminal empire and they told me that they were about to expand into Europe. They were offering me a place not knowing who I was, so that night I confronted my father and he had no clue they were planning to expand. Yeah... that was the first time I ever held a gun. He gave me his glock and told me to deal with them. Obviously having never shot a gun I knew I had to be up close to these lads so the next time I saw them I agreed to the moving into Europe and they led me to the back door after my shift and I shot them both in the back of their heads. My mother never knew about that and my father was disappointed in me because it messed up the walls and left a rather big stain. As a result of that I had lessons on firearm usage and maintenance from my pops and other mentors."

Ymir paused, thinking what parts to censor for Krista. The silence that pursued her history was almost as symbolic as the knife she kept in her boot. The resumption of Ymir's fingers messing with the bare flesh of Krista's bare stomach gave her a shock and the breaking of the hold Krista had on Ymir felt like her fingers were dunked in cold water, the cooling of her blood being felt in her heart and brain.

"You don't have to worry about me judging you. I just want to get to know the real you. You're one hell of a confusing character." A cold chuckle happened across Krista's ear, it was sincere but also positively terrifying.

"Confusion is a good thing, if people don't know how to react to your presence, where your boundaries are, know your life, then they have to go by your word because that's the only thing they know. Like right now, you're eating up my words like they were written in the bible, but I may be lying to you."

"I don't think you're lying"

"Then you are a dumb blonde. I always play a game of two truths one lie."

"Well then _Ymir_ , if that even is your name. Continue your story."

"Aha, I see what you did there, good one Sherlock!"

"Shut up and get on with the story, you like it when I'm smart"

"After the shooting incident I was moved around a bit, bar work, high stakes poker games, I basically ran the casino every Saturday. The gang grew in numbers and by the time I was seventeen I had a good reputation with the men. I told my father to allow me to be a new man, to have no familial connection to him so the lads would give me respect from my actions and not my bloodline. It was around the summer where things got tricky, there was a rival gang moving in on our territory so I was told to deal with the situation. I was promoted and given about fifteen men under my command to wipe them out. Blood bath, total fucking blood bath. It took weeks for my hair to smell normal and my best suit was ruined. Damned bastards. I was the sole survivor of that one, as luck would have it my father had given me all the rats he knew about in the organisation, sent us to do the dirty work and hoped the lot of us would be killed."

"So your own father sent you to die then. Sounds worse than my dad and that's saying something."

"My father was a hell of a lot worse than selling his daughter for men to shove their dicks in. I was subjected to torture. The night I returned home covered in blood he stripped me down and drowned me in pig's blood. Told me that if I allow my enemies to bleed everywhere then I would drown in it. He wanted me to experience that first hand so he didn't stop until I was coughing up blood and begging for death. I could feel the heavy liquid in my lungs, I could feel the strain on my throat from the weight of it. The sputtering noise that I made every time a molecule of oxygen passed into my lungs and forced the blood to trickle out of my mouth will haunt me as well as the overpowering taste of iron and the thickness of a solid blood clot, but I'm here now, still breathing better than I was then so I'm grateful. That was the week my mother found out about the whole thing. Fuck that was one bad week: I went from shooting the local mafia to being baptised in blood to witnessing my mother's heart break in front of my eyes. That though is another story for another time." Krista made a move to ask for more of the story, that the probability of them talking like this was slim, next to inexistent but Ymir shot her hand up from her stomach to grab her mouth, ceasing any future words that were to escape Krista's enslaved mouth.

"To cut a long story short, she chose to go to a better place so she did. I don't hold that against her, I just wish she did it in a way that I could contact her. After that I left the US, I travelled Europe in hope to find a new gang that would take me on, none of them were of any interest to me, they were all disorganised thugs so I settled here. Decided to start my own."

"Lie." The one word that escaped the prison, in fact it's the one word that always escapes a prison, it's in its walls and in the air but always escapes. The concept of a lie. Ymir's hand was powerless to holding it back. As soon as the word reached Ymir's ears Krista was as stiff as a frightened doe. Ymir was on top of her frame, encompassing the blonde in her shadow. _Rules are rules._ Krista mentally punched herself for calling out what she thought was a lie. She knew the story wasn't over but she was stupidly adamant that she had caught the illusive lie that Ymir said she would tell.

"Isn't that a little over zealous of you _my dear_ Krista. I haven't even finished giving my monologue and you think I've lied to you." Ymir purred as if she were the cat from Alice In Wonderland. Krista felt as if she were a bird caged in between the claws of the sly feline. The hand that captured her mouth moved down and surrounded her neck, no pressure to be found but the presence made breathing harder.

The pause Ymir took was one meant for Krista to give her reasoning, or to beg for forgiveness. "You've been here for eight months, to settle down, gain substantial numbers of members, gain high amounts of drugs, weaponry and afford expensive suits for all your subordinates is ludicrous unless you stole all your father's money or you're working for someone, someone who is already established here. I know for a fact that there _were_ at least two gangs hoping to move into this area and parley with my father for drug trafficking etc. There is another factor at work that I am unaware with therefore I think you're lying; I don't believe you started your own gang." It was as if the heavens above opened when Ymir cracked a smile. It started off as a smirk but brew on both sides and turned into a twisted version of a smile but a smile nonetheless.

"So the whore can do more than spread her legs" A red patch grew on Ymir's cheek as Krista's hand passed her face. Krista was even shocked at her own courage to slap Ymir for the comment but at this moment in time she was not a whore. Krista guessed that Ymir was just as shocked as her hand rose to meet the angry patch on her face. Krista was well aware that she broke one of Ymir's rules but she was done playing someone who would sit there and be belittled by someone who she had stopped from bleeding out. As she awaited the tightening of a hand around her neck, she began to focus on the tick of the clock, the turning of the lock… _fuck! The door._

They were in the house for about two hours, the dark was rolling in and apparently so were the guards from before. It was an odd thing for Krista to do, listening to keenly on the surroundings, taking it all in and keeping a track of time. Usually she hones in on the music and hopes to lose track of time so it seems to pass quicker than it actually does. By the looks of things Ymir was also deadly aware of the twist of the door handle. The hand that threatened to close in on Krista soon replaced its grip to around her gun handle, finger toying with the trigger, thumb moving to flick the safety switch off. There were several things about this simple action that frightened Krista; It showed how Ymir thought. The woman was willing to put a bullet in three of her men for doing their job because it served as an inconvenience to her, it showed that she was always aware of her surroundings, she was quick to violence or she felt threatened quickly. It showed that not only was she good with a gun but she was also not stupid enough to carry a gun with the safety off.

The way someone carries a gun can tell a lot about a person's character.

The footsteps were getting closer and the click of the safety had rung. All was missing was the quick successions of three bullets spinning out of the barrel of the gun, seeking to find flesh and twist and tear its way into the skin.

A moan erupted from Krista's mouth. High in passion and pitch. Ymir's head snapped from the door to the origin of the noise, eye brows furrowed and questioning before they raised quickly, understanding the intent. Pressing in the correct spot the leather of the chair began to make its presence known to the room, and hopefully the hallway too. Krista prepped another moan, filling her lungs and exhaling to be cut short by Ymir's lips caressing her own, muffling the attempted fake moan to be replaced with a real one. During the time Ymir's tongue breached the blondes lips she flipped the petite girl on top of her, shielding her wound from prying eyes. The footsteps were silent and stilled in the hallway. The feint breaths of the men could be heard if you had Krista's trained ears.

With Krista now on top of the brunette, the hands that once skilfully held the grip of a gun held the hips of the girl who was equally as deadly. A left hand trailed up Krista's back, digging trimmed nails roughly up her spine, finding the clasp that kept her breasts hidden from the woman below. The high of nearly being thrown into a deadly altercation added to the intensity of the spontaneous make out session. The hairs on the back of Krista's neck rose with each laboured breath she let out. Ymir's adept hands quickly worked off the fabric covering Krista's body and was thrown in the general direction of the door in attempt for the guards to see the obvious progression towards sex.

The only feeling Krista was experiencing was the fleeting feeling of da ja vu. Even though she had lived through moments like this several times before, even just the once with Ymir, it felt almost like something of a dream but something that shouldn't be occurring. It was the type of emotion that you can only live and never write down.

As soon as warm hands cupped Krista's breasts, the sound resonating through the house was one from the door being closed rather forcefully. The opportunity was there to continue the advancements or to cease them with no questions asked. Krista could see the hamsters run Ymir's brain for a minute as she pondered over what was best for the situation, what she was really lusting after. As she thought, her hands teased Krista's nipples; rolling them between her forefinger and thumb, circling them, light flicks to the tips and heated glances downwards to where her mouth wanted to encompass. But it was not to be this night. The grimaces of pain swept in more often than not, Krista understood that and slowly leant backwards, allowing Ymir's hands to slip from her chest in a silent way to tell her some other time.

Krista returned to the position they were in earlier, Ymir's arms surrounding her smaller frame, adding a little squeeze to let her know that they were on the same page. "You've had an eventful day _Mr_ Ymir. You should get some rest, ill figure something out on how to sort you out and get you home whilst you take a nap. That sound good to you?" the nuzzling face of Ymir into Krista's back was agreement enough. As soon as Ymir's arms became dead weight, sleep came for Krista too, the energy borrowed claiming its debts and sleep for both of them swept in like a tide on shore.


	12. Chapter 12 - A New Player

Krista seemed to wake up two months later: she had started college, met new customers and continued to live her isolated life. Life to her over the past two months was routine, wake up, change the sheets, go to college, work, come home, exchange favours, eat, go to bed.

Ymir, as much as she seemed to care, kept her word. She ruled her land with an iron fist. The men that visited Krista had increasingly more expensive suits and violent tastes. She had never been beaten so much in such a short period of time by customers. Her father always said to never hit Krista, if you do you pay for the time she had a bruise at her hourly rate, but the men could afford to beat her black and blue and pay double.

Rod returned home about two weeks after the events of Ymir's wrath. Krista suspected Rod was more lenient on payment for a bruised Krista as everyman who walked past the threshold of her room started with their fists. The most of the men who attended Krista's "shows" tended to be Ymir's men, some were old regular customers, some were nothing to do with the new drug empire Rod was helping to distribute. The amount of drugs that entered and left the house was ridiculous, the amount of drugged up people entering her bed was ridiculous. The fact that none of the men had told her to do drugs with them was concerning. Most customers who were addicted to heroin always told Krista to shoot up before undressing, made the sex more erratic and energy filled. Of course the drugs were curtesy of Rod, for a price.

By the time the scheduled poker game arrived the bruises were turning from blue to an ugly shade of green. The colour shadowed the blondes eyes as if it were makeup. The game was apparently very popular, the amount of people at the table was overwhelming, at least ten people then another two per player who were body guards. The game was based in a room just beyond the kitchen that Krista had missed the first time around. It was more James Bond style hidden but made some of the newcomers um and ah as they joined the group. By the time Krista arrived Ymir was settling down at the head of the circular table, if that were even possible. Rod sat opposite, almost hating the fact he was beaten at his own game the last time they had met like this. Krista hadn't seen Ymir since that night after the biking incident. When she woke up Ymir had made her own way home seeming as she woke up in her own bed, tucked in but no Ymir in sight.

The room was very much so casino esc; checkerboard floors, oak wooden panels on the walls turning into a Japanese paper wall, lights dangling from the ceiling in the shape of chandeliers as well as the table itself. The table was a classic sturdy thing, something that was obviously planned out to create an illusion that the eye was drawn to with brown leather chairs circling it like a ritual. The centre of the table was closest to Ymir, giving it a head and the person who sat at it a sense of superiority. It was the standard green felt on the top, darker wood to contrast the panels on the walls, it was all heavily planned out.

The game hadn't started yet and Krista hadn't received her orders for the night. She knew she was to sleep with Ymir right after the game, serve drinks to the players, and give some encouraging words to the man with the highest amount of money.

Rod swivelled on his chair to meet Krista's gaze before it changed course to her chest. Inspecting the value of his good. Krista always felt disgusted by the looks men gave her, they were ones of pure lust, as if she were an object to be consumed rather than treasured, accept Ymir.

The look from Ymir was a mixture of determination to win the game, excitement of the hunt as well as a sense of endearment. It's the look you give an ex when you still lust after them. Eye contact was never made; it was only caught in passing in Krista's peripheral vision as Rod gave his instruction.

 _Follow the cards._

The brunette seemed irritated at the lack of eye contact as she shifted in her chair whilst twisting her spine so her _new_ body guard was in eye sight. Subtle movements were Ymir's forte but Krista could detect them better than a dog a rabbit. Ymir was agitated at more than lack of eye contact Krista concluded, as things seemed in the corner of her lightly swollen eye, Ymir was preparing something more than violence, it was almost the beginning of a scheme and Krista knew she had to be extra careful tonight.

Krista's eyes followed the cards as they flew from Rod's hands to the table in front of the person who had to play with them. Rod had made this transaction before, the first person to get their hand was the person Krista would approach and keep their lap warm throughout the duration of the game.

With the cards kissing the table and the chips falling from the hands of the players the game started.

Krista wore her usual suit, high skirt, knee high socks with the suspenders rising up past the end line of the skirt to attach to her underwear Ymir would have the payed honour of removing. The top half was a little classier than her obvious whore attire. A frilly white shirt matched with a black bow around her neck, crimson lace bra showing through like the piercing colour of a red traffic light at midnight to a drunken driver. High heels are something that everyone wanted of Krista, something about the femme fatal that men seemed to drink up as much as they do whiskey. Hair in a messy bun to top off the sexy secretary look, it went well with the casino vibe as well as made her look a little more sophisticated for the environment they inhabited.

As her feet followed the cards she caught the glance of a familiar brunette. The eyes brunt into her skin and dug in just as deep as a tattoo, spilling the hopes of the warmth of the blondes lips to grace her own without any monetary incentive but that wasn't the nature of the business.

This was the power given to her, she had the right to withhold information on who she was to keep company during the high stakes game. Krista made full use of it. She teased with her hips, leaked treacle with her eyes and disappointed with the dust cloud that followed her.

Approaching Ymir as the million-dollar chip joined the pot, the hand that held the money extended to take Krista's red hand only to be met with thin air. Krista instead rested her hands on the woman's shoulders, forcing her to sit square with the table, taking Ymir by surprise. Krista was shocked at herself at how the lack of information in Ymir's head gave her a sense of power that shouldn't really exist. It was just having the power of reorganising a schedule, either way the events were going to occur. It's a bit like your mother telling you that you can have a bath before tea or after. You feel like you have the power, the choice but either way you're gonna have that bath you so desperately don't want to have after a day of hard work making mud pies.

Ymir was relentless in her attempt to gain some physical contact, contracting her bicep to move her hand upward to meet the blue eyed girl at her shoulder to result in her whacking her shoulder with considerable force, an echo of a muffled giggle circled the room as quickly as Krista made her escape to the bulky man who was lucky enough to gain the first card.

The man wore a suit a size too small for him. His jacket was lazily dangled on the back of his chair leaving him in his black shirt rolled up to the elbow. The buttons were strained by the pectoral muscles that flexed as the eyes of the owner rested upon Krista's pale thighs. The sultry walk continued, hips swaying as the chips collected on the table and the cards were placed on top. One folded on the first pass, a couple "raises" broke the silence but not the eye contact between Krista and the short haired blonde.

By the time she reached the man half of the men at the table had folded their cards, Ymir's eyes were like hatchets burying themselves in the back of Krista's head. The gorilla like man attempted the same move that Ymir tried but succeeded in gaining Krista's hand. Krista wasn't done at rubbing it in to Ymir as well as make the man feel honoured. She was killing two birds with one stone. Gain some control over Ymir whilst she was powerless and do her job. Krista continued to walk behind the man, placing her hands on his heavily muscled shoulders, his hand following upwards as Krista's thumbs slowly worked into the layer of muscle and unwinding the knots in his fibres.

To Krista's surprise, the man was calmer than a still ocean. He leant into Krista's hands, enjoying the warmth that radiated from them whilst he thumbed at the cards he was dealt, pondering what ridiculous amount of cash to play with. Rod very rarely let Krista warm the lap of someone who wasn't paying for her company later, she knew something was up but the one thing she was certain of was that Ymir wanted the man's head on a spike and mounted on her motorbike.

Most animals weakest spot is the point at the nape of their neck, even a colossal titan will have this weak spot and as Krista's thumbs worked the area the man didn't flinch at all. Most people hunch their shoulders up at least a little to protect themselves but not this muscled man, he just sat there and embraced the feeling most people are highly cautious of. Ymir caught on to this, the blonde woman knew nothing good of this information could arise but she wasn't too interested, she was just as focused on the game as Ymir. Krista was observing Ymir in her natural playground, playing a game she was well versed in, under pressure and jealous of a man who was gaining Krista's touch for no apparent reason. The last man to touch her was blinded, Krista was intrigued by all the cogs spinning in Ymir's mind, seeing how they all spun each other around, what to do about the man, what to do about keeping Rod in order, what to do about the new batch of heroin stashed under Krista's bed and under the floor boards of the very same room they were playing poker.

They were on the fourth pass by the time the man allowed his head to flop backward and make eye contact with the girl behind him. "Reiner, must be odd not knowing my name, thought I'd make it more… I don't even know if I can make it more normal but I've tried." He flashed a grin, one which the great Ymir caught and wanted to rip of Reiner's face. Krista faked an innocent smile, replied her name hesitantly and sheepishly dusted of his shoulders before walking her fingers down his arm as she circled his chair attempting to give him the clue to make room for her on his lap.

You might not believe it but there is an art to sitting on someone's lap. Sit facing them is seductive, back to them is innocent and boring, perching is uncomfortable and almost feels forced. Sitting on one knee, facing inwards is girlfriend experience, sat across both legs is seductive but also isn't ragingly raunchy. Krista had this art down to a T.

Sitting atop Reiner's right leg, facing to the side whilst slipping an arm around his neck she glanced at his cards and the remaining chips he had left then allowed her eyes to stray over to Ymir who was glaring right back at her like an aggravated hound. Reiner had literal millions of pounds left whereas Ymir was fiddling with pennies, she was a woman of pure strategy and Krista was wondering where this was heading, Ymir never lost.

The deeper into the act Krista got the more reckless Ymir found herself. throwing her chips into the growing pile at an alarming rate, not pacing herself at all. Now that Rod was suspicious of Ymir his eyes were always on her hands, checking up her sleeves in case of a hidden ace. Cheating would be hard, winning the game wold be hard as the next pass approached Ymir was down to her last her of chips, Reiner had a good hand and the cards on the table meant he would win almost indefinitely.

The game was down to Rod, Ymir, and Reiner. As Rod deliberated over his cards, Reiner leant back slightly, admiring the scenery in Krista's chest, lowering one of his hands from cradling his cards to meet Krista's rear. The blonde was caught off guard ever so slightly, he was polite but obviously, the allure of a sexy woman so close to his 'manhood' was too strong to keep himself contained. With the small increase in Krista's pupils Ymir's rage was heightening by the millisecond, her legs threatening to make her stand and launch across the table. It was clear as day that Ymir was irritated but only Krista and herself knew the real reason behind it.

Rod went all in which caused Ymir to cool herself down, she turned from a highly volatile substance into a noble gas, unreactive to anything, the game face was out for Halloween and shit was about to go down. It was like seeing a live magician and you didn't know what trick they were going to do next but you knew a rabbit would emerge from somewhere. Ymir could switch, she might not need to, she might do something drastic but on second thoughts there were too many armed people in the room. Krista couldn't see the woman winning. A quick squeeze in her rear suggested that Reiner didn't think so either.

The pot was worth £10,000,000.


	13. Chapter 13 - I'ts In The Finer Detail

**Author's Note:** Hey guys, just wanted to say thanks again to all of you who are reading this messed up story of mine, it means a lot. Reviews mean a hell of a lot to me and keep me motivated during the barrage of college work I've got to complete and revise.

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A small revelation hit Krista the moment Ymir bent the cards ever so slightly showing what she had to Krista. Everyone at the table was staring at her hands and at her face, not the body guard behind her. Ymir was giving Krista all the information to fully appreciate the ingenuity behind the whole thing. Krista was at an elevated position, above everyone else and Ymir must have known about her father's call to 'follow the cards' as her eyes were glued to the cards the entire time, very rarely wandering to anything other than Reiner's and then Ymir's.

Ymir held the ace of spades and the two of diamonds. A good hand but not as good as Reiner's.

"Rod, I need a smoke, this shit's getting serious! Now I know you're still... touchy about the events of last time so my boy can light me up. That good with you?" Ymir cocked an eyebrow as she spoke, innocently smiling in attempt to get him to agree. Everyone at the table knew you couldn't make a card swap with everyone watching, the introduction of a hazard will make everyone extra vigilant.

Rod waved his hand in a dismissive way, the added grumble gave Ymir the permission she was after and the ginger breaded man behind her approached with a cigarette, placing it delicately in between her lips. As the flip lighter was brought into sight everyone's eyes were waiting for the ignition and the flash of a card to enter vision and leave just as quickly but nothing came of it. Ymir raised her hands to shield the flame as if she were on the pub doors on a windy evening, cards too.

No obvious signs of cheating, even from Krista's advantage point, she knew that if Ymir were to do anything she'd show Krista, show off a little bit, it was just the type of woman Ymir was.

As the cigarette began to burn Ymir took a long drag before exhaling the smoke, obscuring the view everyone had of the cards. Krista knew Ymir could exchange her card for something more favourable but she didn't move an inch. She even lowered her cards again to reinforce the fact she hadn't cheated, _yet_ ,to Krista.

"For fuck's sake hurry the fuck up man" Reiner broke the silence, Krista could feel the vibrations through the limb that was wrapped around his neck. The man's voice was course, deep, and aggressive. Krista could feel the muscles she had unwound became tense, pent up frustration that Ymir hadn't make a move that he spotted, nothing to call her out on. He was in a very vulnerable spot.

The sudden loud eruption of noise caught the guard off guard causing him to flinch and attempt to grab his gun, forgetting that the flame was still spewing from the metal container.

The smoke from before kept some eyes focused on it, some eyes were bored by now. Ymir knew the remaining visual probes were keen and desperate to see something. Ymir's hands were still around the flame, instantly retreating but not quick enough. The corner of the back card caught alight, combusting as if there was a small amount of accelerant on them.

From Krista's viewpoint, she could see everything. Ymir flicked a sticker onto the corner where the original number was, altering it, the heat would melt away the plastic rise making the number look like the original.

You don't always have to swap the whole card, just the number.

"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK SHIT AND BASTARD!" Ymir was 'taken by surprise' as she wafted the cards to snuff out the flame. Krista was impressed by the switch, she certainly wasn't expecting and seeming as no one vocalised anything, no other soul saw the swap.

There was little damage to the card which she reiterated to the players as she tossed the remaining chips she had left into the centre of the table.

The ginger man apologised profusely as he cowered away to the corner of the room leaving Ymir to look a little embarrassed to replace the confidence that was brewing within her. All that was left for Reiner to be psyched out.

Reiner was counting cards the entire time, his shoulders were too still when Krista's thin fingers were digging into them. He knew what cards everyone had and he would have known Ymir would have to do something about the cards she was dealt. He had to prove a switch of course but even he didn't catch it. Or that's what Krista thought.

As much as Krista hated to admit the station she had an odd soft spot for the brunette. She was a god-awful human but her emotions were raw she showed them, something maternal in the petite girl forced her to care for the woman. Reiner sat up in his chair, causing Krista to begin to slide off his lap but Reiner was on the situation quicker than Ymir's switch. The hand that rested on her arse was pulling her up, further into his lap and closer to his crotch. Krista could feel the increased heat from the area on her thigh which lead her to ponder why on earth the man would be aroused. Maybe it was the fact that Krista's cogs were working on overdrive, he may be the type of person who likes intellect but that was too odd. He must have known what Ymir had done.

The gorilla man just whispered in Krista's ear and she pushed all his chips into the centre of the pile. Even the sight of Reiner being close enough to Krista to whisper into her delicate ear made the brunette's palms begin to sweat in anticipation of a fist fight.

Krista shifted ever so slightly to bring Reiner's attention to her and not the game. It was the last pass and everyone was preparing for boasting rights when they won but even Krista didn't know how to handle her reaction.

If she seemed happy for Ymir, then she was wearing her heart on her sleeve and that could only end up getting her into some serious trouble. If she seemed like she was uncaring then every player at the table would think she was just some bimbo who was interested in having a dick shoved into her. And if she seemed disappointed then Ymir would get hurt, she wouldn't show it at the table but she would show it on her skin later in the evening.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Krista always found herself in this situation.

The anticipation was thick in the air, all waiting for a que to turn their cards but no one was daring to make the move. Krista knew it was her job to start the ball rolling. "Come on you pussies, turn em over" as uncharacteristic as the words sounded as they tumbled from the blonde's mouth everyone felt a sense of command in its tone, immediately turning over their cards as well as their eyes from what the results were to the woman who grabbed each of them by the bullocks and squeezed by simply changing her aura from a plaything to the one who pulled the strings.

As soon as everyone's eyes returned to the game at hand they all recognised one by one that the 'man' they hatred the most had won everything they betted, again. Ymir's shit eating grin returned to her face as the other men grimaced as her arms swept each and every chip from the table amounting to a net worth of £10,000,000. Both Rod and Reiner were busted out, not a single chip to their name. Reiner's hands pulled inwards to form tight balls as the rest of his body tensed in anger causing the blonde on top of his legs to do the same to stop herself from falling ungracefully. Reiner was positively pissed the fuck off.

What Krista had failed to observe throughout the duration of the game was an emotional bout occurring. Reiner knew he had some emotional advantage over the brunette in the form of Krista. As much as Ymir could hide her emotions, one simple move of a sexual manner when Ymir was watching had her emotions flash across her eyes like vampire falling into blood lust. Reiner was testing the water with every move he made with Krista and Ymir couldn't help but react.

As Ymir claimed her prize the looks given to her were somewhat terrifying, all with some violent intent and one of odd arousal which caused Ymir's grin to widen further with an added hum of amusement. By the time she had all the chips Rod was calling the cards in but Krista knew Ymir couldn't hand them in; everyone would kill to see if she switched the cards and knowing the contents of the entire deck, given there would be one missing card and one double. Knowing of what Ymir did Krista knew Ymir would have to replace the card again, with a scorch mark identical to that one or replace the entire deck. Both of which Krista didn't have a fucking clue how this correction switch would pan out.

"Now that's me boys, I'm going to take both my prizes upstairs with me. You might wanna put some music on the girl may get a bit loud, I'm feeling awfully… what's the word… I'm in the mood for some _serious_ fun."

They were the last things Ymir said before the smile melted from her face.

Krista felt the familiar sensation of falling again but this time she was falling in reverse. Reiner had a vice like grip on her thighs as he moved her off his lap as he stood up and forced her legs to part allowing his waist to lay flush with hers. She was placed on the table top, spread legged and the eyes of every man on her. _Fuck._ Krista could tell this was a blatant play to get at Ymir, the brunette had an almighty temper and this would get to her quicker than the light from the lamp would reach her freckles.

With everyone's eyes on Krista, Reiner knew he had an audience and if Ymir was to kick off she would get the bullet she deserved. The blonde man's hands surrounded and cupped her arse, dragging her violently towards his waist, the friction caused a burning sensation forcing Krista's eyes to flutter shut. This was a calculated move and Reiner was smatter than he looked. The natural flutter was only stage one before his lips met hers, a rough grip turned soft and passionate on his half, Krista on the other hand grabbed his shirt in attempt to push him off but the angle of his body forced it to look like she was grabbing on harder with fervour. From what Ymir could see, Krista was insistent on mouth fucking the man.

Krista was taken aback by the man's forward move and attempted to get out of the situation as quick as possible, she knew what Ymir would be witnessing, she knew how the woman worked-ish and the scene would be painted on her in black and blue. Reiner was intent on making Krista flee Ymir's grasp. Digging his nails in as he racked his left hand up her back and forced her head further into his, Krista's eyes shot open as soon as the pain passed. Her eyes were violently shacking back and forth as if she were falling asleep, attempting to keep them focused to search for Rod and then Ymir.

Rod was pleased, as soon as Krista's eyes intercepted the looks from her father all Krista could see was a light glazing in his eye at the prospect of a money opportunity. Her father was intent on Krista using this situation to give him a lasting need to see her again and feel her delicate lips again but on other places. It was almost like her father intended to make her more addictive than the drugs he was helping to distribute.

With Reiner forcing her head to alter sides the show was getting more intense and more violent. Ymir's temper wasn't holding up as well as the kiss. The smaller blonde's eyes met with Ymir's as they were deciding whether to take the opportunity to correct her card switch or put a bullet in the man. As soon as her eye brows furrowed Krista knew she chose the latter. With everyone's attention diverted to the kissing blondes Ymir knew she could get at least half of them and her guards the rest with the element of surprise. Krista was aware of this too as she bit down sharply on the intruding tongue and lips, forcing Ymir to reconsider her options.

Rod's displeased look matched Reiner's as he matched the move and bit down with more than enough force to make her bleed. As the skin in her lip was ripped open by Reiner's front teeth Krista could feel his bottom teeth meet with his top through her lip. As the blood began to tumble down her chin the rest of it congregated inside her mouth.

Something in Krista, and the look in Ymir's eyes made her want to take revenge, send a jab back at him instead of always taking whatever these men threw at her. Just having Ymir in the same room actively encouraged the woman to stand up for herself. Only if Ymir was to strip that power away, it was always worth fighting for. Pulling away she readied herself like a viper, and she spat her own blood at Reiner, blinding him temporarily gaining an amused laugh from the woman at the table.

"If that's enough Reiner I'd like to take this fair lady up to her room with as little damage to my good as possible." Ymir allowed her words to be projectile venom just as thick as Krista's blood as she tucked her lucky crads into the inside pocket of her jacket. As much as the words took Krista's power away with little effort it was worth it to have more than one person degrading the gorilla man. Reiner took a pace back, using the sleeve of his shirt to clear the blood from his face as it lined every one of his wrinkles as if it were a type of ritual war paint.

Ymir extended her hand to take Krista's as she slid from the table and approached her, making sure to add an extra spring in her step to make clear to Reiner his advances were not welcome. Ymir was oblivious to the matter as she was focusing heavily on covering her tracks and resisting the urge to spin on her heel and brain fuck the man with a piece of sharp lead. Ymir's other hand was placed flat on the table, hand containing a new, factory sealed pack of cards, expensive branded ones at that. Obviously, a ploy to get Rod to accept them for her slightly burnt card, she knew how Rod worked better than Rod did himself.

Reiner wasn't having any of it.

"Give me them fucking cards you cheating bastard!"

Ymir pulled a face that captured perfectly how she was feeling, it was the face you pull when you make a simple comment and the recipient attempts to chastise you, you look away to your friend and elongate your face like something out of Mr Bean.

"Calm down big boy, no need to get your thong in a twist." It wasn't meant to be a humorous comment, in fact it was simple sarcasm as she reached into the pocket she had placed the cards in and threw them at the man which he caught between his index and middle finger like a skilled magician. As Ymir's face returned to the normal stoic expression she winked at Krista, reassuring all was in hand. A perfect copy of the card that was burnt, from what Krista guessed the whole thing was planned, to have an entire deck of singed cards, the whole point of a new deck was to allow someone to call her out on it and quash all possibility of cheating.

That's when all the pieces connected in Krista brain. Ymir needed the petite woman to cover for her, obtain the deck of cards to make sure that no one could check the deck after the display.

As Reiner inspected the cards Ymir flung at him, Krista was on the other half of the issue. "Daddy? Ymir is gonna give us a new deck for the damages, can I keep the old one, I need it for an art project at college." Her words were sweeter than treacle that made Ymir shiver and cringe but it proved effective. Rod was too caught up in Reiner's inspection of the burnt card to give a fuck. As the blonde collected the cards she couldn't help but release a small giggle, she knew her father was a prick who didn't give a damn about her, she didn't even take art at college so she wouldn't have an art project, but of course Rod wouldn't remember what subjects she was learning because the only thing he cared about her learning was how to ride a dick.

"Done now ape? I'm getting bored of your antics, I just wanna have a shag with this delicious lady" As Krista retuned to the brunette her eyes were being board into which intensified as the rest of the deck made its way into her inside pocket via the lovely Krista.

When Reiner's head lifted itself up from analysing the cards in his hands Ymir was already leading Krista out of the room but he was set on making Ymir look a fool. Withdrawing a knife hidden on his person he pierced the cards and launched the them towards Ymir.

This was the first-time Krista had ever seen Ymir being attack and from what it seemed like she was oblivious it. The only thing to accompany the situation was that none of her guards were taking up arms, they stood with their hands behind their back, tracing the pathway of the knife as it cut through the air. As it seemed to Krista, the closer the object approached the more likely it was to hit her own person rather than Ymir… as soon as the chemical message reached her brain the sensation of a strong pressure on her abdomen followed suit just milliseconds after. Ymir swiped her left arm out like a wooden plank as she switched places with the petite blonde. Krista stumbled as she was forced into the space Ymir once occupied, falling flat on her arse but out of harm's way. The impact forced Krista to blink and within that short period of time the knife was just about to skim Ymir's chest. Ymir had continued to swing her entire body to dodge the weapon, as soon as the knife was next to her heart her hand was closing in on it. Krista's eye were now wide open craving to see if the woman had any intention on catching the knife or something bad ass like that but in reality catching a moving knife was pointless other than to prove to Reiner that she was ironman or some other comic book hero.

As much as the lensed over eyes of Ymir screamed that she wanted to show off for the lovely lady on the floor, she knew she couldn't catch the knife so she simply grabbed the cards flawlessly between her thumb and forefinger allowing the knife to spin and continue its course, cutting through the cards as it would have done Ymir's skin.

The knife hit the wall handle first causing it to bounce off and fall ungracefully to Krista's side. A smirk grew on Ymir's face as she seemed to impress herself, a smug hum resonated from her throat catching Krista's attention once again before deliberating what to do with the knife. One again she wanted to be equally badass as Ymir, Krista seemed to think they were in some sort of competition, battling over the power that they took from each other but she knew she could never win. Rod made sure of that. Krista eventually decided it was best to leave the game alone for now, it's best to not pet a wolf after its been threatened, best just to let it have its way with you.

With a hand descending to pick the girl up she took the offered hand and stood, forgetting how tall Ymir was she felt like she never really stood up in the first place. The hand that one aided her gained in its strength and the pressure on her fragile hand kept on increasing as Ymir led her out of the room and towards the stairs.


	14. Chapter 14 - Moving Into 'Check'

**A/N:** sorry for the long delay. college is very hectic at the moment and there hasn't really been any opportunity to write. ill be writing a lot more during the xmas break but that's a while off but thought you'd like to know. anyway, here is the chapter... **trigger warnings**.

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The harsh grip on Krista's hand made her feel her own pulse as well as Ymir's. Both were elevated.

Ymir was positively fuming.

Even though Ymir had escaped serious injury she was equally ready to dish it out too. As they climbed the stairs Ymir was taking two steps at a time, forcing Krista to keep up pace, exert her a little more so she would have little fight in her.

At the top of the stairs there was a large expansive room; Krista's quarters. Ymir knew her way around the house, she planned the damn thing herself, Krista didn't know this but cottoned on quickly when Ymir flaunted around the place as if she owned it, which she did, but with a familiarity of someone who had known these walls for decades. There was only a small landing, a room leading to a bathroom and a walk-in wardrobe, to the left and right then straight on was the entrance to her room. The door was already open in preparation for Krista's visitor, Rod had already set up the room for Ymir. As soon as they passed the threshold chains and handcuffs were visibly attached to the railing behind Krista's new king sized bed, Rod evidentially had his own plans for how Krista was to be treated tonight.

As soon as Krista passed the doorway her back met with the cool wall and Ymir's forearm pressed against her throat causing her to tense up more than a cat when you grab it by the scruff of its neck. From all the things Krista had practised and become accustomed too she had never been so wrong about someone's intent.

The heat in Ymir's eyes were not lust but violence.

"What the fuck were you playing at huh? Being that fuckwits lap dog like some common whore! As soon as that game was over I owned you, I bought you and you let him attempt to claim you with your fucking readily given permission. Some may call you eager to reciprocate." Ymir continued her lecture as Krista snaked her hands around the woman's forearms in attempt to relieve the pressure but as soon as the tall woman felt her jacket sleeve move she dealt a quick blow to the shorter woman's abdomen, just below the ribs, warning her that if she were to go any higher her ribs would break. The jerking motion resulting from the hit caused the blonde to choke herself on the arm bar. Everything was calculated to inflict damage.

Krista knew this sadistic side existed in the woman, but she had only seen it conducted on someone else and She could bottle the emotions away and leave them alone, but not now that the tables were turned on her. She was the one behind the fist of this woman and she was terrified. The accusations were untrue and she had never wanted to defend herself until now, now all she wanted to do was fight back. Slap some sense into the towering woman who was so easily blinded by whatever emotion at the cause of this was. Krista wanted to label it jealousy but she could never regard herself as the object of someone's affections to promote such an emotion.

Krista's fingers sunk into Ymir's arms as much as they could, attempting to dig her nails in and draw blood, anything to snap Ymir out of it. As she came to think of it she wasn't sure who she was attempting to calm down. She could sense the boiling feeling growing in her fists each time her fingers rubbed over bone in attempt to burst a vessel. The further the pads of her fingers entered Ymir's arm the more pressure arrived on her throat, it was at the point of falling unconscious but Krista had been drowned, held in locks and been without air many a time, she knew everyway a man would grip her neck as well as fuck her. She also knew how to dupe the man into thinking she's on the ropes but breathing better than fish in oxygen rich water.

"Is that a hint of jealousy Ymir? Didn't think a man of your stature had any emotions. It appears you mother never taught you how to feel. Maybe you're learning how to treat women from your pops eh?" Krista spat volatile venom, as it left her mouth the drabs remained and as soon as she swallowed she could taste the damage it would do. Krista learnt too damn much about men and how they tick, business exchanges that go tits up because the order of words and lack of manners ruin multimillion trafficking opportunities. Krista found how Ymir worked in her reaction. She was a standard clock piece; it was just out of time. Everything works the exact same she was just erratic in her pacing.

"Simple fuck toy thinking she's more than a pair of legs to be spread. You follow the money like a stripper, want me to put my card in your thong? Is that all it took for Reiner? Of fucking course, I get it now. You're the type of fucked up who likes shit like this. You like being beaten, your mums blood covering your birthday presents must have been thrilling for you, you probably came right then and there."

Krista's aggression emerged from nowhere, the physical burning in her knuckles was felt before she lay into the crook of Ymir's elbow. Each knuckle forcing skin to split and displace the veins underneath it, each minor tear to a vessel allowing droplets of blood to leak out which would leave a nasty bruise but Ymir was planning on coming out less blue than the blonde. The hit forced Ymir's arm to coil up, taking the pressure from Krista's neck with it. Krista's smirk mimicked Ymir's perfectly, the one you do when pain amuses you, like when a puppy bites your hand.

Krista kicked off the wall and launched herself into Ymir's torso, attempting to get low and tackle her to the ground and break something in her chiselled face but she was beaten to the draw, lured into the spider's web. As soon as Krista's back left the wall it was slammed right back onto it. Ymir was bent over, shoulder scooping under Krista's jaw and continued upwards forcing her head to continue with her path and not the one the owner willed. The taller woman's lips were lined up with the blonde's right ear, not even a laboured breath present whereas Krista was burning through her energy quicker than the Hindenburg combusted.

"Y'know for a chew toy you know how to bite" Ymir didn't attempt to hush her voice; she just spoke calmly as if she were talking to an old friend. In the hectic array the shorter girls head was in, the fact that Ymir found this a casual operation was more unnerving than being attacked.

"Do you seriously believe that I follow the money? I never get any money from this, I get to live another day so _excuse me_ for attempting to survive. And another thing, if you weren't so self-absorbed you'd see that I was attempting to push the big bastard off me, and I bit his lip, he didn't just have my blood on him. So maybe instead of going all macho on me, you can go down stairs and have a proper fight with someone deserving of it."

Ymir didn't verbally respond, instead she collected Krista's wrists with her right hand and pulled them behind the blondes back, sandwiched between her spine and the wall, allowing the bone on her thumb to dig in-between the last vertebrae and the beginning of her pelvis. The pain was sickly sweet, it was the beginning of the submissive raking their hands along the back of their partner, begging for more but Ymir once again managed to twist it so that Krista would only feel pain, forcing her to remember this moment and associated any time she's with a lover that this movement would only cause sadness and suffering.

Ymir was all for physical pain and psychological warfare. A sociopath in all its definitions.

The calm breath felt on Krista's ear toyed her mind into thinking that she was in no danger but the sensation of the gap between her bones increasing told her otherwise. Rod had taught Krista how to please men, how to seduce them, how to play their games and if worst came to worst, how to escape their grasps but Ymir had different weaknesses, different places to grasp and exploit. The blonde was drawing on her past experiences, all the things that have caused her pain, forced her to submit and how she guessed Ymir would react.

Ymir was the type who would go from throwing a knockout punch to fucking them better.

The shorter girl latched onto the Ymir's neck quicker than a vampire, putting as much pressure into her sucking motion to force as much blood out of their capillaries as possible. At first Ymir allowed a sigh past her lips as she forced her free hand around the blonde's neck. Attempting to pull the leach from her neck resulted in a dark purple bruise to form on her and a hitch in her breathing to break free. This wasn't one of arousal though, the game was just getting started.

The hand that was around Krista's neck clamped down on her trachea at the point where her jaw met with her neck. The sharp tug forced Krista to stumble away from the wall exposing her back. Both of Ymir's hands released their contents, her left sweeping outwards as her right circled around to take position on the blonde's throat. The momentum was already set as Krista's body weight kept on moving forwards even as she willed it to halt its path. Caught by her airway Ymir added to her natural course by round house kicking her in the backs of her knees, now the compression on her neck was focused at the top, forcing the air to still within her lungs.

The ripple that ran through Krista's bones from the heavy impact rattled the cage of Krista's tears, allowing them to leak through and collapse over the rims of her eyes. As soon as the salt water fell onto her captors hands they moved, harshly wiping them away allowing the girl to steal a breath or two.

"The incessant crying is a noise I don't want to here right now, it's in your best interest to cease your bawling or that jaw of yours won't be so complete" Ymir really did sound like a trained killer in that moment, everything about the way she enunciated every syllable was through a calm irritation. It was a well-practiced way to speak and intimidate. It only made the blonde wonder about all the things she must have left out about her childhood.

Krista couldn't seem to rationalise this amount of violence over what had happened down stairs. If she were just some whore to Ymir she would be a little pissed about someone having a cheeky pull before their session but this was beyond that. When Jake did what he did, Ymir's reaction was extreme but excusable, this on the other hand was blatant violence and Krista didn't understand it. Maybe Ymir's feeling for the blonde had flourished over their little bonding session, or maybe she was more territorial than Krista was aware of. _If she were territorial, why wouldn't she wait for Reiner to be alone… they must be business partners._

Ymir must have though Krista had made the move and Reiner was going along with it to get his own back on her for clearing him of his money. It was the only reasonable explanation.

Krista's tears kept on falling, dampening the hand around her neck and burning lines down her cheeks, carrying the dark eyeliner with it. The testing of Ymir's patience was a risky move but it was out of Krista's control, she had to show her emotion, convince the taller woman who was already set on harming her. It was in the bizarre moment that Krista twanged the emotion both of them were feeling.

Betrayal.

The click in her brain matched the sound her jaw made. Ymir had moved her hand to the blonde's mouth, placing her palm in it so carefully and then leaning her body weight into it slowly, allowing the pressure to build up. The plates in her jaw begin to shift out of place, cracking under the tension. It would start with a small crack, dragging itself to grow larger, the deeper the more chance of it fragmenting. At first Ymir only intended for a quick shock but allowed herself to get out of hand. A small twist in the downward motion forced Krista's jaw to follow suit, the twist forcing the crack to condense, close the gap and rub against each other like tectonic plates. The socket released its contents as the bone itself snapped off.

The tears didn't stop falling but the noise that accompanied them stilled to allow silence to take over. Krista's neurons were firing signals of extreme pain but Ymir was stoic in her expression, uncaring of the damage she had done.

Removing her hands all she could do now was leave, but she decided to stay little longer, either to bask in Krista's pain of to burn the sight into her mind, to know that maybe she was the worst thing for the blonde.

Krista kept her hands in her lap, resisting the urge to move the tears as she knew to be completely defenceless and non-defiant would tug on the heart strings even if there was only a couple. Her mind was moving quicker than the blood flowing through it, analysing everything that could happen from here on out or maybe what the motives were. She knew the violence was over but Ymir's breath was raising and she knew that her adrenaline was kicking in. the cause of that could either be that she was hurting, shocked at what she had done or maybe she was only getting started. Either way the amount of bruises littered on her skin and broken jaw was only the beginning of it. She could only hope for an answer sooner rather than later, before her own thoughts shrouded her being in an unescapable darkness.

The brunette rounded the kneeled girl, messing her hair up as she went for her own amusement, to reinforce that she was the one with all the power, the nonverbal demand to submit. With her belt in line with the darkening eyes of the petite girl she crouched, making sure to be too close for comfort, allowing the jacket to open revealing the position of her gun and the singed card. She was always the one set to win, she was the one with all the skill she needed to get whatever she wanted from anyone.

"it really is a shame. You have such a pretty face and now that jaw of yours lays slack. You can't even be used for a blowjob. Such a small amount of pressure and you snap; your mind right now seems to be under the same amount of strain your poor jaw was under. A fuck thing who can't say no. now that can only end one way. The most tragic part, all I wanted to do was free a beautiful bird from her cage. But you allowed corruption into your song, to steal away the thing I wanted for myself. Now I must rework plans, check where my opinion locates itself."

The fire in Ymir's eyes was almost gone by this stage, she was cooling down as Krista's jaw adopted the burning. Ymir adjusted her clothing and her hair before continuing, attempting to speak but her words jamming in her throat.

Krista was dishevelled, mascara running down her cheeks, hair a mess as her shirt remained open displaying her chest. Ymir had seen many women like this, most of them were about to be raped by her gang members when she first joined the mob. This time around Ymir was the one who dictated what happened next. After all she already payed for the company and the damage done to her goods required a money sacrifice.

Ymir's hand traced the broken bone, analysing the damage done before leaning in further and whispering in Krista's ear.

"There are positives from me doing this amore. The negatives however could have been avoided but thanks to Reiner…" she trailed off Ymir's tone was more sympathetic, that sense of false security rang every alarm bell in the blonde's brain but the pain overrode it, focusing on the positives like she was told to do. _Amore._ Maybe she was cared for, in some sick and twisted way maybe Ymir's intent was to free her in more sense than one. Messing with the mob had its complications, but technically there was no damage being done, Ymir made the deal with Rod, she controlled it. Krista could only gather the background details were too obscured to her vision to come up with a plan on what the hell Ymir was up to but she knew what she had to do.

Focus on the positives.

After the last word fell from Ymir's mouth her lips met Krista's harshly before her hands were grabbing onto the scruff of Krista's shirt, raising her up to her feet, marching her to the stairs. As soon as Krista was a stride away from the top stair she was hitting the third one with her right shoulder before she collapsed over herself and fell down the stairs violently. The second to last hit the stairs gave her a kiss on her jaw, forcing the break to worsen then the following hit broke her collar bone. A light dusting of purple all over her body was thrown over her when she landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. After all the commotion Ymir vocalised her apology to Rod. That she was just moving something that was broken from Krista's room. Obviously, her father never expected to see her when she was dragged in backwards by her neck into the casino room. They were half way though their next game as Krista's limp form was thrown onto the table. At this point Krista's blood was leaking from all over the place and staining the new table.

Reiner was the first to jump up and assist the blonde but she was too confused and in pain to register comfort. The other thing she could remember was what Ymir said right after. "the girl is broken. I can't even get a decent fuck out of her. She's not worth your extortionate price this time"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU YMIR?" Reiner was more than a little pissed

"I guess whatever you touch is cursed, now back down fucktard. I'm only after my money back. Now Rod, this woman isn't going to be touched by another human until she is fully healed. Once she is ' _ready_ ', i will be the first one to see her. Do you understand _Boyo_?" The sarcasm was thicker than Krista's blood as it spilled onto the chips.

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 **Two notes in one chapter!** shock horror! sorry, no smut this time. the story could have gone two ways and i didn't want to get into the continuous loop of poker game and a cheeky fuck after. i will be writing another one or two if the story could benefit from it so don't worry, i'm sure there will be another smut for you guys to look forwards to...


	15. Chapter 15 - The Game Changes

Krista awoke in a white room, hospital apparatus all around her. No soul to be found.

The room was plain looking, a few charts on the wall but nothing interesting. The curtains were closed and the glow of the street lamps flooded in from under them. She had never expected to find herself here. She would have assumed if something bad had happened then she would be on the sofa with a bag of ice on her wounds but that wasn't the case this time.

To her left was a vase of forget me nots and other assorted flowers and a letter. It was noted "revealing the unseen- Ymir"

The thought of this person leaving flowers and a note seemed out of character as all she had done was abuse her but once again she remembered what she was told to, and think of the positives.

" _Krista,_

 _I know this seems odd but bare with me. There is lots to explain and I thought it would be best for what I'm about to tell you to be written down so you know exactly what I'm saying and that you can read over it again if you see fit._

 _I know I've been your abuser and I've done some fucked up things but I needed you to know that is not my true intent. We live in a fucked-up world, and to get anywhere we need to do fucked up things. You unfortunately have been on the receiving end of most of them. All the things I've done seem rash, but ill tell you my intentions for each and every one of them._

 _Most recently was what happened with Reiner. I know you didn't make any move towards him, I know your father told you to gain his attention in hopes for more funding. My reaction had to show him up, you see he is my business rival. Originally he was one of the men who attempted to move to Europe but my father never would have believed me If I gave his name when we looked for the men attempting to capitalise from our family business. Reiner was my father's left hand man before he defected and joined a rival group we work with now and again. If I attacked him I would be deader than the dodo. The reason I attacked you was partly to do with asserting my dominance, the people in the room saw what happened and all assumed that you made the first move, I had to correct their opinions of me if they thought I would let something like that slide. Every injury I gave you had to incapacitate you otherwise your father would have sold you again and again and I cant bare to think of it anymore, at first you were nothing other than an outlet but there is just something about you that calms my tortured soul and twangs on my conscience. The damage wasn't supposed to last very long, so you could heal well and overall you would be unaffected. During your time of healing I was planning to come up with a way to get you out of that place, and if you'll ever forgive me, allow me to share my real story with you. I know I can never leave the mob but I know I can keep you safe, away from that life you were submerged in._

 _I may have been wrong to assume you would rather be in pain than have to be with a different man every night. But I did what I did to enable my plan to work. You're safe in this room. You're safe with me once you're away from Rod._

 _The whole 'I'm an egotistical twat head' was all for show. When you first met me I was gaining respect amongst the men, I needed to have a dangerous aura around me, the next time I was higher up in the new faction. Now, as you're reading this, I'm the left hand man of one of my fathers most trusted leaders. I cant really get any higher up without causing a civil war amongst the family._

 _For clarity of mind, here was my plan:_

 _Get high up in mob_

 _Get you out of Rod's house for a little while so I can sort out new accommodation for you, new passport, new everything, so you're able to choose for yourself what to do_

 _Use the power from being high up in the mob to convince the district don to buy Rod out, including you._

 _Help you run away, with or without me_

 _Everything I've done has been twisted, if I had told you earlier then you would have played along, your reactions could be read and would have been unmatched to when I did something unexpected. I required your raw emotion and reaction._

 _All these excuses seem rather flimsy now I put them in words but I hope you understand where my intentions are. Ive never lost a game yet, stealing you away is a simple game of chess, and I'm already at 'check'._

 _Hopefully you have kept a positive mind, known that I would have rather thrown myself from that motorbike than see you hurt for no reason. It seems fucked up that I won't let you fall from a bike but can easily break your jaw and thrown you down the stairs but believe me when I say this, it was the hardest thing ive ever done, but it was for the greater good._

 _The biggest question must have been why allow all these men to pay for your services early on, why would I even actively encourage it. Once again, it was to aid me in convincing the don about the worth of Rod. If all our men were comfortable with Rod they would have very little resistance to buying him out, or working with him more closely. Of course, the loss of you would hurt their needs as men but nothing that money couldn't rectify._

 _I break promises all the time but never my word. I will free you Krista, you have my word._

 _Ymir_

 _PS you're in my private section of the local hospital. I come visit everyday at 4PM, you've been asleep every time ive visited so if you want to wait up for me, you know the time. Ill answer any questions when I'm there._

The letter was hand written, beautiful scripture. Something Krista would never expect from the mobster, but after the letter she didn't know what to expect from the woman any more. Only that she would arrive at 4PM.

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 **A/N: sorry for the long set up, wanted to make Ymir seem like a colossal prick and build up a lot of back story before anything fluffy or relationship like could be written. thanks for bearing with all the darkness ive written about, hopefully youre still enjoying the story and hopefully ill see you in the next chapter...**


	16. Chapter 16 - Change In Gameplay

By the time Krista had read and reread the letter for the eighth or so times the clock was approaching 4 PM. She could only assume that Ymir had visited several times before, gathered the courage to spill the secrets whirling through her head, write the damned letter to make sure it was perfect and concise. Enough to establish a routine. Overall Krista wondered how long she was in the hospital, or if she was put under a medical coma for safety reasons but she knew her thoughts were wandering.

All the revelations were more like a class A drug to the young woman rather than something that made complete sense. It was more like seeing you only take photographs to remember the moment because you know that when you're older you'll forget, years of your life will go unaccounted for and will be lost. But in reality, its only you that cares, its only you that they effect and they'll only become pieces of paper with ink on it when you're six-foot underground. It was a dizzying sensation to see that underneath all the pain and torment there was some other purpose behind it, buried under what it right in front of your eyes. The immediate now.

The clock was ticking on the approach of the gangster Ymir, the lover and the fighter. The liar. The… whatever she was, Krista guessed it depended on the day. There were several approaches to what could happen. Ymir wouldn't turn up or be late, Ymir could have lied again in the letter, Ymir could have a hell of a lot of explaining to do, or Krista could be asleep.

Krista was still sceptical of the whole situation. Everything seemed to check out but in her world, the things that was written in black ink never happened other than in wonderland. She was the cautious type, she understood that she was in a weak position. If she allowed the woman to unravel her plan then she would be giving more than her body to the woman, it would be her mind and soul. Everything that allows her to semi- live would be under the thumb of this messed up individual.

Slipping the letter back into its original position, ruffling her hair up, she slowly slid back into her bed. She found it ironic that she would be awaiting someone who paid for her company as if she was awaiting her prince in sleeping beauty. Resisting the urge to giggle she flailed her arms in attempt to make her sleep seemed undisturbed and prolonged. Covering her tracks in a snow-covered landscape.

Eyes sealing closed the door opened, 5 minutes later than the etchings told her. With her vision restricted to the blurry gap between her eyelashes she could only see the outlines of a frustrated Ymir, jacket scratched and tie loose around her neck. The entrance into the room was hurried but as soon as Ymir clocked the girl was asleep her movements slowed down and became more purposeful. Slowly spinning on her heals to delicately close the door in attempt to not disturb the blonde. The brunette's eyes only faltered once when they glanced to the letter, no evidence of being opened.

A small sigh filled the silence, either from relief to know that Krista wasn't purposefully asleep knowing her time of arrival, or of irritation that the blonde didn't know the good news that was delivered on the small piece of paper. The sigh only had a small pause before words accompanied it, just as delicate as her sigh, but even more terrifying at how calm and relaxed the words came out. It was as if she were talking to a new born babe. Her own.

"I guess you're sleeping eh little thing? I guess you haven't read my letter either. Y'know, it's almost as if I'm seeing a coma patient, fuck, I'm sure if you were awake you'd think I was. I always appreciated someone talking to me when I was falling asleep. My mother always would if she had the time, it was always nice to hear a calming voice after the sun set. A soft voice to juxtapose the world I was raised in."

Ymir paused for a second; debating what to say next. She decided to remain silent for a while. She moved further into the room and sat on Krista's left side of the bed taking her own body weight onto her legs so the bed wouldn't dip too much and disturb the sleeping girls rest.

"I've only been admitted here about three or so times… when I first got to the UK I was an alcoholic, traumatic events set me off on a spiral y'know. You've probably known a few people like me. The story is always the same anyway. It's a scary thing for something like that to be legal. Of all the things I've seen drugs do to people I know that alcohol does a lot more damage that the purest form of any narcotic. It's funny now I reflect on it, I'm only young but if you think about my life expectancy then I'm middle-aged."

The last part reinforced that the only thing that was inevitable was taxes and death. Krista could tell the woman had an old soul, someone who was well aware of their own mortality and the world they inhabit. It was something that made Krista unsettled, her father was someone who though death was a joke and that life was a game to be won, to move all the pieces and sacrifice them to gain an advantage. That part didn't unsettle her because that was what she was used to, Ymir on the other hand didn't fit the mould. She was the same type of character, sacrifices pieces but was more aware of the worth they play when alive rather than something to be disposed of. The fact that she surrounded herself in death, allowed herself to deliver it was more terrifying. For someone who is painfully aware of life to easily snuff it out requires a mental fortitude that Krista had never crossed paths with before.

Krista's thought was drawn back to its origin as the brunette's hand landed delicately on Krista's pale one. "I've only been sober for one month. One fucking month. Maybe it was some drunken decision to get out but I told myself that it's the only decent idea with an overall positive impact on someone's life I've ever done before. Told myself that I needed to bin the drink so I can make sure that I see good on my plan. Lucky you eh? I guess lucky me too, forcing my hand for the better. After all the shit I've given you I want to say thank you. Fuck it, I need to say thank you. I know you won't hear me or know of this but it can't do any harm." Ymir spun and took Krista's hand with both of hers, cradling them like the holy grail.

"Hi, I'm Ymir. I come from overseas and from a twisted and broken home. I'm a liar, cheater, criminal, and a killer, I fit amongst the worst people you've ever met. I take full responsibility for breaking your spirit, your body, and your life. I was under no pressure to do any of those things, I did it for the ease it would give me. Eventually I began to see clearly where I was supposed to stand on this spectrum of rights and wrongs. If you'll let me I wish to carry you from this limbo and into something more suited for your kind nature, somewhere you will be safe to be yourself. In this light, there will always be a shadow behind you, there is always a shadow created, even by the brightest of lights but if you will allow me I wish to operate in those shadows. Roam in the darkness to keep you where you're supposed to be."

Ymir had never sounded so close to tears and heart felt in her life. She was painfully aware at how pathetic she sounded but it was the simple truth.

Krista could see the tears starting to form and obscure her vision. _Sleeping people don't cry_. She knew she would blow her cover if a rebellious drop of salty water fell from her eye and ran down her cheek. Attempting to subtly blink the liquid away it only brought more attention to her face. Ymir had lay her hand down by this stage and she was focusing rather intently on the blondes face and her expression. As soon as the tear began to fall Ymir's thumb was wiping it away with the delicacy of walking past an aggravated lioness. Her palm remained rested on Krista's cheek for a while, thumb repeating the motion several times. Attempting to soothe Krista's emotions before remembering that side of her jaw was still broken.

Attempting to reclaim her hand Krista's hand slapped on top and halted her movements.

"They've more than likely got me on so many meds. I can barely feel the pain." A slight smile breached the cold air between them, only to grow into Ymir's stone face.

"Well, good evening to you too gorgeous. Now hush before you do more damage to what I've already done to you. Let me answer some questions right off the bat, save that pretty face of yours from contorting in pain. That sound good to you?" Krista could sense the raw concern as it dripped from Ymir's fangs, crafted from the harsh perception she created. The younger girl could only nod slightly, making sure that the pressure from Ymir's hand wasn't too much to cause a further break without her realising.

"You've been here for about two weeks, you're probably unaware of the fact that you've been walking around and stuff, they've got you on a lot of medicine, side-effects are that they make you woozy. I've only just recently come to visit you, I had to settle some business with Rod. The whole 'my daughter is out of commission and so I can't make any more money' was something that had a heavy price but I won £10 million so don't worry about buying me a new Rolex or something. It's a gift, if you can call it one." Ymir retracted her hand at that point and presented a pained smile whilst scratching the back of her head. It was a goofy look and Krista couldn't help but try burn the image into her memory. More data on who Ymir actually was and what her personality was like. At that point in time she only had the long list of mazes Ymir had created, this was like showing the blonde that there was a method in her madness.

"A fractured jaw only takes about four to six weeks to heal, I'm gonna insist on you staying the full six weeks, the longer you're away from Rod the better. I know one of the questions you've got is why did I do what I did, the whole broken jaw and throwing you down the stairs etc. If I didn't hurt you, getting you out of there would have been tricky, a lotta lead would have been thrown around if you catch my drift… I'm just going to apologise for the detail I'm going to go into but I think it would ease you more than hurt. If I had broken your leg or your arm you could still be fucked, and it would be painful, nothing that morphine couldn't have sorted out though, I had to break your jaw, if you can't give a man a blowjob then he probably won't want to have sex with you, if he can't kiss you then he probably won't have sex with you. Your prices are high, restricting such a simple thing means business would be ruined until its sorted. If I had slept with you before then Rod would think I was claiming you for myself, to be my thing. I personally thing that's rather gratuitous, I mean, I do want you for myself but not just to use you like my motorbike. If I slept with you after I broke your jaw, then Rod would think that you were still 'functioning' to a high standard to please me. The whole 'dance' was to throw him off the scent and get you the fuck outta there."

"Thank you Ymir." It was a slurred response, one that was well receive nonetheless upon the gangster's ears.

"You're also probably wondering how this is going to work out, now obviously there has to be two plans, one with me, and one without. Not if I may enter my input. I'd choose the first option." A shit eating cheesy grin erupted from Ymir the charmers mouth. It was something of pure perfection, heartfelt bullshit mushiness and Krista could tell albeit taken back by the motion that Ymir, of all people could show such emotion.

"Now the passport situation should be ready by next week or so, you'll get discharged in four weeks. You'll receive all the documents you need when you leave this room. Now either I'll give you all the money you need to travel to America and live there, have a nice job and a place at American 'college' waiting for you OR I can drop you off at your house, you pack your things for one night, I pick you up in the morning, buy your father out and you live with me instead of jetting off to the land of the 'free'. Only compulsory thing is date night once a week to a fancy restaurant, I'll pay. Obviously I'll still be in the mob, and you'll be my girl. There will always an element of danger and risk but you'll always be my top priority"

Krista went to respond but Ymir's index finger found its place to silence those lips before any sound could be heard. "Decide when the four weeks is over, allow me to win you over during that time, convince you that I'm not the monster that I portray. That okay with you my dear?"


	17. Chapter 17 - Recovery Time

**AN: Sorry to keep you guys waiting. It's been very hectic and I've found myself with very little time to write. I'm on my Christmas break so ill try my hardest to get some more writing done for you guys! once again i wanna say a huge thank you to everyone who read this far, reviewed follow and favorited . All that jazz. It means a lot to see you guys supporting me by continuing to read my messed up story. Thanks guys!**

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The four weeks went by quicker than Krista had wanted. Being treated like a queen was so alien but so perfect. Countless letters were left if the blonde was asleep at 4, a complementary bouquet of flowers to match. When she was up, Ymir would bring a portable DVD player, both settle into bed and watch a cute film. Krista decided her favourite was Disney movies, all the ones she would have never watched as work came first. Tangled, she seemed to fall in love with Eugene, aka Flynn. By the fourth week in hospital her jaw was able to take the strain of solid food, Ymir brought pizza to celebrate, half a Hawaiian, half margarita. They decided by the third-time Ymir visited that they would always disagree if pineapple has a place on pizza. Ymir thought it was amazing, Krista thought otherwise. The one thing about that evening was the lack of alcohol, most people bring alcohol to celebrate, she expected Ymir to bring something and only have a little taste but nothing in sight, instead she brought some Coca-Cola. That was an odd sense of pride that Krista felt when she clocked that Ymir was another day sober, another day demonstrating that her word was her law, her religious scripture.

The last day Ymir arrived early, something she never did. Passport in hand, tickets ready and a suitcase, presumably with some money in. All the fun stuff.

Ymir was stoic, poker mask plastered on. She didn't make eye contact nor did she speak. As the petite girl approached she only held out the passport with a letter wedged inside.

Ymir was in casual clothes, a nice white T-shirt with a grey cardigan, denim jeans and some Vans. Krista was dressed already, some new casual clothes too: Black skinny jeans, Timberland boots and a red flannel, something that Ymir had brought a week or so ago. They suited her a lot, something more fitting of a teenage girl rather than a woman of the night. The fragile hands wrapped themselves around the passport, stealing it away and placing it into her back pocket.

Ymir had expected such a thing to happen, as she closed the gap between the two of them she ever so gently placed a kiss onto the shorter girl's forehead before spinning around and walking away.

A small tug caught the brunette off guard. She didn't dare swivel around, showing her emotion would only kill her a little bit more.

"You showed me a new path, where it could lead. If you wouldn't mind, I could use your company along the way."

It took a second for the taller woman to process the new information. Something that she had only hoped to hear but knew all the reasons why it would never reach her ear drums. Ymir remained static in her position, Krista started to clear her throat to repeat what she said but was quickly muffled by Ymir's chest.

Long arms trapped her into a tight embrace, the heat from her skin was radiating off and warmed Krista's cooling torso as the blood retreated to her heart and filled her with a sense of relief.

"I can't tell you that you've made the right choice, but thank you. For having faith in me."

"Don't get ahead of yourself stud, you're not a religion. No worshiping from me but if you want to get on your knees for me I won't complain."

A small chuckle emerged from Ymir, something the was so foreign it was like a lost language. Krista could hear the movement of air in Ymir's chest as she attempted to still her laugh but the blonde could hear all the muscles being told to remain still. Krista's fingers ran away with themselves as they trailed upwards, parting Ymir's cardigan as she went. Once they reached her neck she pulled, forcing the taller girl to bend at the waist. It was something totally unexpected, a small yelp met with the gap meant for laughter and fused to break the silence painfully.

The grip on Ymir's neck tightened before a second hand found its way into her hair, tugging with a fervour that made Ymir question its intent, she could tell the direction she was headed in but the reason why? She was unsure.

Their lips passed each other until Krista's found Ymir's ear, and took a rest a few millimetres away before she spoke. "This one is free" four words that sent Ymir spiralling in her own thoughts. The lips that spoke poison latched onto her lobe, the same tricks she had experienced before but now she was weakened to its effects. Knowing that there was no benefit for the girl at the end of this became more than a mental exercise for the brunette, it became a thrilling trailer to the new season of Westworld. The kisses on her lobe trailed to Ymir's mouth, it was slow and forceful, the kind that makes you weak at the knees. Krista had learnt a thing or two from being kissed by every 'gangsta' in the neighbourhood. At this moment in time she was in the position of power, keeping the taller woman in control by keeping a hand in the nape of her neck, the weakest point on every animal. The pace was dictated by her tongue; the passion was decided by the pressure placed on Ymir's neck.

The mood was enslaved by the smirk on Krista's face.

Ymir knew how power hungry the girl was as soon as she snapped at her passport. The power to travel the world with or without her. Something that simple, the normal rights of anyone were something of a divine right to her now. Ymir knew the importance to have some power over her, to show that she wasn't a beast who owns the world and keeps it at her feet. She had to show a vulnerability to the girl or would run as soon as she felt trapped again.

The difference between being a slave and keeping company is mutual respect and the knowledge that if you want to, you can leave with little questions asked and very little repercussions. Allowing Krista to take some of that hard-fought power away from Ymir in the way Krista knew every man dominated her in.

It was a simple reconnaissance job for the blonde, it was easy to see a person's motives when you allow their blood to flow as well as their lust. So far the Ymir that had visited her bed before was dormant but definitely present. She kissed back with more ferocity than Krista was putting in, showing that it takes two to tango. It was the kind of passion that allowed Krista to remember that she was dancing with the wolves but also know that Ymir wasn't going to bite down to the bone.

Ymir attempted to further her position and move them to the bed but that idea was quickly dismissed when Krista moved her hands from Ymir's neck to her chest. A small shove put Ymir's night time thoughts to bed quicker than they had arrived.

Ymir's hair was messy, falling from her grip and Krista looked like she was just about to be ready to go on a night out on the town. Ymir's hand quickly pulled her grip away, allowing her hair to fall down. It was only a small change but ruined the male illusion she wore. Her hair framed her face and made it appear rounder and softer; it caught Krista off guard. It was more of a physical embodiment of the different people Ymir has to be. One is the rough gangster, the other is her true self, softer and malleable.

Ymir was first to speak. "Where did this bout of confidence emerge from? It's a pleasant surprise to see you turn into a lioness rather than a timid artic mouse. This is going to have to be your game face if you want to be seen with me my dear. A mobster's girlfriend has to be colder and deadlier than the man she is accompanying."

"Just because I've never played the game first hand doesn't mean I don't know how to play. There have been countless others before me and I'm a very good learner through observation"

"Yeah, I got that with the whole kiss thing…"

"Scouting out someone when their guard is down is a very importance piece of information to compile. I've only seen slithers of your true personality; I need to know if it is a wise option in keeping you around."

"Keeping me around? You're lucky I fucking let…"

"The guard outside can't hear you, he turned away and left when you attempted to move me to the bed. You can put your claws away cat woman"

"Now seriously, where the fuck did this confidence come from? It's oddly attractive."

"Guess there is something about having control over your life that goes to your head."

Ymir chuckled. It was as if a toddler had finally learnt to climb the cabinets and could reach the biscuit jar. Ymir could tell the bravado was simply due to adrenaline. The rush of making her own decisions was a big and terrifying thing; something that would set the adrenal response off quicker than seeing a lion bolt after you.

Ymir composed herself, straightened her cardigan out before extending her hand for the blonde to take. There was something about the relaxed atmosphere between them that called for both of them to admire it and fend off all who attempt to ensure its failure. There would be lots of objection amongst Ymir's peers and superiors. She would be working with all those who had seen the object of her desires naked and beneath them. They would all still see her as a common whore, something only for Ymir's entertainment. Ymir knew the battle she would be facing. She would have to make sure everyone saw it as a business investment but in reality she was more emotionally invested than it was made out to be. There was a danger in showing any emotion. The façade of manliness is based on control of emotion.

'Never shed a tear, spill blood before you show anything other than aggression.' Her father's mantra.

The hand that was extended in front of Krista never once wavered when given no response. Ymir's hand still had the callouses that she noticed from before. They hadn't gotten any softer by the looks of them, in fact they looked more worn. There was only a few times the shorter girl could recall where someone had extended their hand that showed no sign of danger. Most of the time it meant she was about to be violated, lead to a dark alley, lead into a meeting to be used for entertainment, lead to her bed. This time there was an odd combination of entering a warzone and joining a lover to go to bed in the depths of winter. She was aware of the hell she could endure by staying with the brunette, the hassle with Reiner and other gangs that will interfere. She was aware that blood will be spilled because of her, she was aware she would have to spill blood to survive. But this time her seeing red wasn't from a burst artery, it was due to a little emotion called love.

"Come on gorgeous, lets hit the road before rush hour starts."

Snapped from her thoughts Krista's hand shot up out of reflex. Used to the tone used by many customers. There was a stage in her life that her father hated hearing the moans she produced, not to say that he ever enjoyed them, not to Krista's knowledge anyway. This was in the beginning of her training. She was still to 'perfect' the art. Rod hated hearing something that was so obviously fake so he made her stand on the corner of her street and 'attract the men' and that would be 'the right type of people to practice with.' Countless knives held to her throat, forced advancements, the list continues. They all had the same reason behind them, her father put it down to 'not being convincing enough, not pleasing enough.'

"Sorry 'Mir I was lost in my own thoughts." Krista shook her head, attempting to conceal the tear as fell from her eye. The tear of past pain she liked to dub them. She wasn't pained in the moment, it was the memories that torment her in the present that call upon a sacrifice.

"it's oddly cute when you miss the first syllable of my name. it, however, isn't a pretty sight to see you sad cry." Ymir looked deeply concerned. Coiling her arm taught as she advanced towards the shorter girl. The hand that obscured itself from Krista's vision emerged too quick for comfort to capture the tear before it crossed her cheek bone. Wiping it away with her thumb, Ymir used her thumb on the return swipe to boop Krista's nose, adding a goofy simile. It was a god awful attempt to change the mood of the situation but with the addition of a corny smile and a romantic gesture it was enough, even for a split second.

When Krista finally took Ymir's hand the guard from outside entered to open the door when the brunette gave a signal. It was more like James Bond rather than a casual drive back home to pack some bags and get the hell out of there but Krista knew that this was more symbolic of her entering this sort of world.

Ymir's men lined the white hallways as if she was Darth Vader, all that was missing was the imperial march music and the scene would be complete. Krista had noticed the suits getting more expensive each time she came to visit, going up in the chain of command but along side it was also the risk of harm.

The hospital itself was plucked right out of the movies. All white with the odd poster on the wall warning about sepsis and other fatal things that can occur whilst on the wards. The staff were nowhere to be seen, nurses scuttled to the corners of the rooms they were occupying and the doctors apparently were standing well clear of mobster Ymir. Once they entered the main waiting room one of Ymir's men left the group in a hurry, fumbling around in his jacket pocket before producing the keys to a vehicle and nodding at Ymir, a silent plea for instruction. Ymir didn't bother responding, it seemed more of a formality than something that was in practise but whatever it was all the people in the vicinity were on edge, something the brunette was aiming for.

"Oh and Harold, bring my car around, not my bike. I think this lovely lady would appreciate the warmth rather than the thrill of a cold evening. I won't be requiring you to drive me, I'll drive myself." Ymir's voice was colder and darker than before. Something dipped with pain and sinister intentions. An experienced general in the toughest of militaries would be envious of the authority that flowed through her voice.

"Yes of course."


	18. Chapter 18 - Passing Go

The car was something straight from a 1950s-gangster movie. Talk about stereotypical. It was a retro hot rod with all the internal workings on show and the engine purred more than a cat with a catnip toy. Krista was just as infatuated with the car as that cat would be with its drug.

Ymir could only smirk as she craned her head around to sneak a look at the blonde bomb shell who looked happier than a kid at Christmas. "If you keep on grinning like that your smile will fall off and that will be a tragedy, id have no lips to kiss… well except from the ones between your hips…" the first part was kept in a hushed tone, the more sexual part was open and aimed at her men's ears. There was an aura of sexual tension that she was putting out, part of her persona to her men. Krista guessed that other men found someone who had control over women to be powerful and envy worthy. Krista knew that two could play at that game and toyed with the idea of partaking in the sexual jesting but remembered that she was not officially anything more than a whore to these people. There were rules that she was still constrained by until the deal with her father and the mob was final.

Ymir held her arm out for the shorter girl to take, pausing for just a second to shift the gears in her cognition, shifting from the mob leader to the courting kind person she buried close to 6 feet under.

Automatic doors opening, the driver's door following suit. A man dressed head to toe in black emerged to swiftly move out of the way. Keys still in the ignition, engine running and ready to race. It all was so cliché. Krista couldn't help but think that this thing was a magnate for the police. Of course, the cops didn't have weapons and Ymir was always armed. The convoy could only cause trouble in the neighbourhood. What was the purpose of this? There was a certain shock factor for the blonde but legally, the bigger illegal, drug smuggling, human trafficking, organisation picture didn't benefit at all.

Leading Krista to the car, her other hand placed itself upon Krista's'. The warm palm of the brunette trapped the heat as it attempted to escape the girl's fingertips. "The car will be warmer don't worry my dear" The drifting of Krista's mind was halted by the sound of the door being opened for her and the cold draft where her new lovers hand was jerked her brain back into the situation rather than lusting after the warmth to surround her once again.

As soon as Ymir entered the car her whole body relaxed. She moulded into the seat as buckled up her seatbelt and put the car into the correct gear. The interior of the car was more than of its age. It looked newly refurbished, the smell of freshly worked leather enveloped Krista's senses.

Before the convoy set off a man approached the driver's window before lightly tapping on it to gain the drivers attention. Krista couldn't hear the hushed words Ymir was having with one of her subordinates through the cracked window. From what she could gather Ymir was telling them to split at a set of traffic lights and that they would meet up at some other location.

As the window was rolled up the roar of the convoy aired itself causing young Krista to jump. The symphony of motorbikes starting, trucks, and cars was overpowering to someone who wasn't used to all the commotion. The widening of Krista's pupils didn't go unnoticed by the brunette who made sure to playfully slap the other woman's thigh before sniggering and returning her hand to the wheel.

When the escort cars left the hospital complex the air calmed and became richer in oxygen. With the hot rod departing from its sister cars only a few minutes down the road both parties in the car could breathe more comfortably, not having to worry about keeping up appearances, or at least for the duration of the ride back to Krista's house.

"So, what's with the whole Harold thing? Thought it would be a little traumatic to have another driver called Harold. He definitely can't pass for your father; most people would pick up on that _minor_ change in detail." Krista thought it was best to introduce business into the environment, she knew she had to take advantage of the calm situation especially now that she had the opportunity to gain some more insight into how the whole thing would work now she was destined to be thrown into the deep end of this new side of the mob. Ymir could only catch herself chuckling at the question as if a toddler had just asked where babies come from. "Harold is quite simply the name everyone is given if they're the driver. When someone gets caught in a bank robbery, they always say that they're the driver and nothing more, so you end up with five or so drivers but no actual robbers. Each section has their own nick names for their drivers. An old friend of mine over in AZ was called Harold and was a genuine nice guy. We were having some fun in the local area, causing some minor damage to neighbouring 'businesses' and he was the only one to get caught. Said he was the driver and pigs didn't believe him at all, so he got a couple years in the slammer. Yeah… he was a decent young lad."

"Was?"

"Harold would be a painful name if I still liked the fucker. Obviously if the cops thought that he wasn't the driver then how was the vehicle moving? He thought it would be funny to get me involved into the whole situation. At the time, there was some serious movement in product so if I was on the radar of the local law enforcement then our shipment would more than likely be compromised. Of course, the guy didn't know this, he didn't really know my position in the whole organisation. As soon as the cops came a knockin' on my door he was killed in prison… obviously not my doing but my fathers. Couple months later we found out that he wasn't who he said he was. He was painfully aware of the shipment and our product and was pissed that my father had given a loan to his mother and was threatening to involve her into the business side that you were involved in if she didn't pay up soon."

"Turned from kind of funny to messed up… you got anything that doesn't have a dark twist to it?"

"You speak as if such stories exist. You got any you wanna share amore?"

Krista could only open her mouth to talk before quickly shutting it again. Remembering that all her stories either start in pain and end in more pain or they start out in heart break to turn into physical breaks of skin or bone.

"So now ive let you into the secret, you got any for me?" Ymir was playful in her tone but deadly serious in her meaning. It was something that didn't let up with the woman. As much as she attempted to be playful and friendly in her action and tone there was always something more sinister in its meaning. The words she chose always had origin from pain or torment she endured or gave to someone else. Krista guessed she would always be brutally aware that she was laying with wolves, hoping that they don't bite down too hard to kill her. She wondered if she'd ever find the pain of being in a vice like grip pleasurable.

"I don't have anything that's hidden from others knowledge. I mean apart from being a prostitute for a mafia gang that operates in the local area. But seeming as you're aware of that then there is nothing that would come to your surprise. For being a whore I'm pretty simple."

"You're not a whore. That's a vulgar word to use to describe yourself. You're a lot more than you think you are. Remember if you had the choice you wouldn't have every been sold or used."

"Huh, I guess so. You know you seem wiser beyond your years" Krista adjusted herself in her seat, kicking her shoes off to sit on her foot and not scuff the black leather seats. Resting her head on the door, her mind wandered through all the things that she could say to Ymir. There was such a distance between them mentally. The only thing they could really talk about, or at least have a two-way conversation about was work or the mob. Krista knew that it is basically their lives. They had both been consumed by the role given to them in infancy.

"Wisdom comes from experiences, not from the duration of your life. Most of the times they go hand in hand but for people like us. Well... we don't have the luxury of knowing that we will gain the experiences over a long period of time because lead is always harder than our heads."

"Wise and awfully dark eh? You could be seen as suicidal with all these dark thought you have."

"Suicidal no, I'm aware of the end of my life that's all. I wish to prolong my life as much as I can, and that is the very opposite of suicidal am I correct?"

"Can't say I know the dictionary definition of suicidal but…"

"But you're well experienced in knowing people who are? I know what your mother did."

"Actually there is more than that… I guess that's the secret I can tell you. I had a half-sister once upon a time. Frieda. She passed away when I was very young so I don't remember much of her. She kept me safe, I felt loved by her. My mother always rejected me, being the bastard child and all. Frieda was much older than me, in fact my father never told me when her birthday was so I never knew her actual age. I asked her once and she said that she was as old as time. To four-year-old me she was a grown up, looking back on it she was a young teenager when she died. She taught me to read and write. Of course, my father would never read me a bed time story, tales of knights and dragons. Frieda was the mother I never got to have. She told me to be lady like. It has a more sinister tone to it now that I know what she meant. She must have been in the situation I was forced into. Used and abused, not that I was aware of it, in fact she kept me well shielded from that world until…" that's when words failed Krista. The memory of her sister becoming too much she grinded her teeth until she regained some control over her emotions.

Ymir turned her head to look at the blonde but before eye contact was made the blondes eyes darted out the window, staring at the passing streetlamps as they blurred her vision. The streets were empty, not a car in sight. With the conversation on hold Ymir shifted gear, slowing the car just a little, just enough for Krista's eyes to focus on something. She was thankful, she knew that Ymir acknowledged that she didn't want to cry in the memory of her sister, she wanted to remember her fondly. Allowing the mind to fixate on something else creates the distance between the event and the current, enough to reduce the emotions felt in the moment.

"Erm… until one evening she came home later than the usual. Father wasn't very pleased. That week Rod had cooked a fresh batch of methamphetamine. It was a new recipe, untested. As punishment, he used her for the test subject. To cut the story short, it was a very destructive batch and caused her serious brain damage. She lost the ability to formulate sentences. I think father did that on purpose, y'know so she couldn't say no. It didn't take long for her to decide that the rapings, forced drug abuse was enough. She knew she had to make a statement. The only selfish thing she ever did was take her own life. She was so strung up one night that she came into my room, whilst I was asleep. She set up a noose, slit her wrists and"

The car stopping was abrupt, forcing the seatbelt to catch the blonde. The next thing Krista recognised was the click of her seatbelt being undone and the warmth from Ymir's body radiating into the deepest and darkest parts of her mind. Krista was lifted from her own seat and onto Ymir's lap facing towards the taller woman. Long arms wrapped themselves around the petite torso, a steady breath reaching the blondes ear as she begun to shake from the memory. Small hands grabbed fistfuls of Ymir's shirt, grip turning her knuckles white.

"Were in no rush to get back onto the road. Take your time babe, I've got you."

Krista could hear the pain of her own heart as well as the accompaniment from the sound of Ymir's. As much as those words were calming there was, once again, the tone of business in the background. The beat that keeps everyone in time is unchanging. Knowing that she would have to spend one more night in the company of her father, who would try everything to make Krista undesirable to the new buyer; to Ymir, was a thing that crushed her more than the sight of her dead sister, gently swaying as her blood left her face.

"Every fucking thing that has ever had anything good attached to it always ends up being my greatest torment." Krista was lost in herself. Snow balling in her memories, and Ymir was near unless at stopping Alice from falling further into the rabbit hole. All she could do was hold her close and hope that she would focus on her heart beat and anchor herself. Ymir knew that tonight would be torture for her. She knew that Rod would do something, she could only hope that it wasn't too bad, that the effects were reversible.

"Ymir, do I have to go back?"

"If I drop you off, pick you up with your things an hour later then Rod would know that I'm after you and not his business. We have to play this by the book, and as cautiously as possible so I don't lose you. Are you ready to get this ball rolling?"

"I guess I have to be"


	19. Chapter 19 - Cash Out

Authors Note: I just randomly want to thank you guys again. im aware that this story and the characters are far from AoT Ymir and Krista and its very fucked up. this is my way of sorting the shit that goes through my head and not doing something stupid. i want to thank you guys for reading and following and favouriting this little project of mine. it means a hell of a lot that you guys are finding my story interesting. Anyway, enough of my annoying ramble! Here's the next chapter.

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As soon as the house came into sight both of their hearts dropped. They knew that something sceptical would happen but Ymir was more optimistic than the blonde.

The couple didn't exchange words of comfort as Ymir opened the door for Krista, she only offered a hand to get up and a good night's kiss before telling her that shell pick her up in the morning, and with that Ymir set off from the scene leaving the cold night air to pull at Krista's clothing.

The path towards the door was something that appeared more barren than she had ever seen it. It had a whole new meaning, for the first time in her life she felt that this house wasn't where she belonged. In fact, she almost felt the urge to call it a brothel and she was the mistress of the house. Her eyes had somewhat been opened by the woman she calls her "girlfriend" if that was even the correct term for it. She seemed to gain some more self-worth and knowledge of the world she lived in, not like she wasn't before, but now she could see the path in front of her rather than the trails she left behind her.

Placing her fingers around the door handle she allowed a nervous breath to leave her lungs before her poker face was strapped on.

The door was unlocked, expecting of her arrival. She knew that Ymir would have informed her father of the time she would be returning home. She knew how the whole conversation would have gone. Something along the lines of her father complaining that she could have been home a week earlier and he would have strongly implied Ymir should pay a week of her usual income. Ymir would have retaliated by sending some men over to 'keep him company' or increase shipment size for the extra week to keep him busy and under her watchful eyes.

The house itself was calm. The front room had alleviated itself of the furniture which at first worried the blonde, but eventually it just became normal in her head. Another thing to add to her constantly changing schema of life. Bobbing her head into the kitchen there was nothing out of the ordinary. The room of poker was cleared away and presentable as it should be. It was at this point that the silence caught up to the blonde, she didn't recognise it as her thoughts had kept her company, now she was left to her own devices. Her ears would have to compensate, attempt to grab at anything they could hear. Then her brain chipped in again. 'where was Rod?'

"Daddy? I'm home." Just saying it, the thought of knowing her father was home made her skin crawl. She was painfully aware of the cringe that threatened to attack her lips as soon as the word 'daddy' fell past them. She never wanted to call Rod that. Krista much preferred to call him by his name or father. Something that didn't remind her of her childhood. Or the things her clients would like her to scream when they were pounding into her. Her mentality was to distance herself from him as much as possible. If she couldn't do that physically then she would have to do it with her words.

The response took Krista by surprise. She had convinced herself that the man wasn't in. That she could get away with one night to herself before she could escape. But she forgot that things like that don't happen to her. There was always a snake hidden amongst the grass.

"Come on up baby girl! We've got lots to tell you" Krista could tell that Rod was in her room, and that he had company. But it sounded different from, 'we've got a wealthy customer, take your panties off and make sure when you cross your legs he can see what you're offering.' This was something that benefitted him without the requirement of feminine persuasion.

It didn't take long for the girl to make her way up the stairs she was kicked down only a few weeks prior. As she dawdled up, she caught herself admiring her body for taking each hit as her ribs hit the edges of the stairs or her arm crashing against the banister and healing to leave no sever scarring, it was miraculous to the blonde.

Once again there was something that struck Krista as being off. The environment wasn't too different to set her mind on alert. She wondered if it was the things Ymir was talking to her about that had kept her on guard. She gathered she would know when it arose. Hope for the best, expect the worst and all that stuff. When her eyes could see above the top stair she saw her door open and a few banners on the walls just past the entrance. 'Get well', 'love you lots', 'see you soon'. All words of supposed encouragement but there was a sinister tone underneath it. They were probably from customers, all people who wanted her to return quickly so that they could get their shag because their wives refused to as she was already fucking the local hairdresser.

Her father met her at the door and ushered her in swiftly after giving Krista a kiss on the cheek before using the opportunity of being close to whisper into her ear to be a good girl and that she's "lost daddy a lot of money."

Her father's grip was for aesthetic purpose to the viewer, and to Krista it was ruling her body with an iron fist. He held her hand as he led her to the slaughter. Krista has been through this act countless times before. The intent was to make her look innocent, childlike, untouched. There was a certain appeal to some men to fantasise about sleeping with an experimental teen. Preferably of the younger side. Krista didn't look her age, fourteen tops. Men seemed to love that. Of course, that being known she thought back to why Ymir found her attractive. She knew Krista was older than she seemed but there was still something a little shady about her finding her sexually attractive. Krista knew that Ymir was a similar age to her so it made it alright but she couldn't help but think there was something else.

"Perfect timing my dear Krista, Reiner and I were just talking about you! In fact, we were talking about your education. You're doing so well in college; we were just talking about what to do with you when you want to go to university. Reiner was interested in making an investment in you."

 _Fuck._

Reiner was perched on her bed, eagerly awaiting a response. Krista knew what this meant. It was the same plan that Ymir had but he didn't mess around with his intent. He had Rod eating out of his hand and this could only end one way. She was lost to the ages if this went Reiner's way. She had to hold him off for one evening. By the morn the mafia would have had a word with Rod and proposed their offer. Ymir wouldn't let her go.

"An investment? That's very sweet of you but I'd hate to put you out of pocket. You'd never get to come see me after poker." A sharp jolt when through Krista's body when Rod squeezed her hand with as much strength as possible but still seem natural. Krista had gotten used to being herself, being able to talk however she wanted, to feel her emotions in the moment that she felt them. Now she had to unlearn everything that the past couple of weeks had bestowed upon her.

The blonde knew what her father wanted her to do. He was wishing that Krista would take the initiative; walk over to Reiner and take a seat on his lap, tell her father that herself and Reiner would discuss the investment. Which was code for she would let Reiner fuck her into oblivion and she would allow him to think she was loving every second of it.

Krista had other ideas. She was, in her head, under the protection of hopes and dreams. Her freedom was only a night away and that gave her the empowerment to flex her muscles a little bit.

"I doubt you'd put me out little missy. I've got a bigger empire than your associate Ymir. There isn't an offer that I can't top them on."

"Sounds like you and Ymir have a little rivalry going on. Trying to prove you've got a bigger dick than him?"

"Dick measuring is beneath us. Ymir and I are old friends. He did something against my morals, I left his company and decided to ruin him. I guess were childish to hold grudges but nothing to do with appendage measuring."

"Oh really? That isn't what I saw at the game. I saw raw jealousy in your eyes, almost pissed at him for being better in every way…"

Rod had enough of Krista rebellious behaviour. The hand that held hers wrapped itself around her face at a force. The pressure on her jaw was something that made Krista's brain shift gear from being herself back into the submissive creature she was contorted and forged to be. Her jaw didn't break, but she knew her father intended for her to remember the pain of being thrown down the stairs. The replay of the feeling of betrayal to run through her veins and return to her numbing heart.

"I apologise for my daughter's behaviour, apparently, her time away from her father's care has forced her to go rabid." Rod returned to holding her hand, tighter than before, making sure to keep her attention on the pain that is now and the pain that could be. Reiner only waved his hand in dismissal and patted his lap, inviting the blonde to keep him company. Her little act of rebellion managed to stall for about 5 minutes. She knew the more talking that was done the deeper the grave she dug for herself was going to be. She knew that she couldn't get out of it herself, she would have to call on Ymir. And if Reiner's information on their financial situations was correct, she knew that the deal Ymir was attempting to make wouldn't go through with Rod. His eyes were only fixed on money and power, and sometimes his daughters breasts.

Krista was first to attempt to remove the restrain of her father's hand. There was a small conflict between them that lasted a few milliseconds, something that couldn't be witnessed but the aftermath was something that was clearly visible. It was a battle of wills. A defiant look, making the first move, the straightening of the spine. Krista was showing her display of confidence.

Some people call it a courtship behaviour. To show the man that this little whore isn't to mess around with _too_ much. Shell have some fun with you, let you fuck her but don't think that in her mind she has allowed you entrance into the inner keep.

As soon as Krista was close enough Reiner allowed his ambition to proceed him. This took the form of his hands shooting out and grabbing the petite woman by the waist and forcing her down and onto his lap. The movement was meant to be fluid but Krista had to wear this man down at all costs. She made sure to angulate every body part to make sure that the landing would have dug in somewhere. Something to cause a change in expression. These men were all the same. Their game face had to be destroyed. A little crack in their clay masks could allow the smoke from Krista's lungs to seep into their own. Then Krista has the hook in the fish's mouth, all that was left would be to reel them in.

The attempt was there. It was just unsuccessful.

Rainer could read Krista better than he could read out his right to an attorney. He made sure than he remained looking stoic. Once Krista was seated, he trailed his left hand up her centre, leaving it placed on her right breast, toying with the fabric that covered the girl. A low hum of approval entered the room alongside the voice of Krista's father. "Should I leave you two alone? Talk through what's going to happen as soon as I see those magic numbers the next time I check my bank balance."

"That would be very kind of you Rod. I don't know how long I'll be, there is lots of talking to be done but I'm sure your girl wont object. In truth, I doubt that shell have a breath to respond."

"So long as you don't harm her until I get my cash. Once it goes through she's all yours son"

With the remnants of Krista's demise fading from the air, Rod turned on his heels and made his way to the door, not bothering to look back at his daughter.

When the door was shut, Reiner stared at Krista for a minute or two. The stare began innocent and ended up becoming the blade that undressed her.

 _The one night before freedom was gone._

If the information was correct then she was doomed to be the gorillas play thing for the rest of her life. There was no way that Ymir could get her out of this. That extra week must have been the tipping point for the man who claimed to be Krista's father. Krista was aware that the man was very vindictive. The loss of some money, the hint of an interest. It was all something to be exploited. Rod knew how to play people with Krista, he had many years of practise of it.

Krista had been sold a few times before, only for a short period of time before the party had died. Poison, well no one knew it was poison, it was undetectable. Krista was quite proud of her work. It was the only thing she could do. Administer it with a kiss, fuck him until his heart gave in and it was all an unfortunate event. If course Rod knew the game, Krista wouldn't be daring enough to do it unprovoked. Rod didn't know how to cook meth but he knew how to poison someone, told Krista his first attempt of making a 'date rape drug' was perfect, it's how he met her mother.

Krista could tell that this was the real thing, this man was too powerful. He was the real deal.

Reiner moved his hand that grasped her waist up her back, dragging it along, allowing his nails to keep her attention of the path they were making. As soon as they crossed path with her bra his quickly undid the clasp, the hand at the front swiftly whipped it away and his hand replaced its position before her breast had chance to bounce. The entire time Krista was focussed on the following morning. How the whole thing would pan out. The barrage of questions she would receive off Ymir, probably as she shouted them from the door step as Reiner answered the door. The fist fight that was inevitable. The gun fight that would break out afterwards. Krista knew that if Reiner decided to buy her then he knew what Ymir was planning and he would also be able to gage a reaction before Ymir even knew the situation she would be walking into.

The situation turned from bad to worse when Reiner's tongue forced its way into Krista's mouth. Dragging her mind kicking and screaming into the now. To force the act back into place. To make her remember every damned lesson she had learnt about how to please a man, how to make him think that his performance sexually was very pleasing.

"Every penny Ymir won over the last 6 months is now in my pocket. Oh, didn't _she_ tell you? _She's_ running on empty fumes my dear. Actually, before she lost it all, she even gave me a couple hundred to fuck you one last time. Guess I should show _her_ the same curtesy eh would you like that? One last time with the dyke before I cart you off."

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 **A/N:** Back to darkness again, sorry its a bad habit of mine. Just gonna tell you guys that next chapter is going to be the darkest one to date, and to some of you it may be a bit too dark and questionable to most peoples tastes. Just thought id give you a heads up, you may want to skip next chapter. Ill put an authors note at the top of chapter 21 summerising the contents of chapter 20 for you guys if you want to skip it.


	20. Chapter 20 - Bottom of The Pile

**Authors Note** : 100% more fucked up than you're probably thinking its going to be. **Trigger warnings!** I Recommend a skip if you didn't like the whole Jake thing in previous chapters cause this is more fucked up than that. You've been warned.

If you want to skip, wait for chapter 21 where ill put a summery of this chapter in the beginning so you know whats going on.

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The whole thing moved too quickly for Krista's brain to understand what was happening. The mental revelation of Reiner knowing that Ymir was in fact a female. That she was about to be forcibly taken against her will.

Krista was wrapped up in her own mind, figuring out the information she was dealt with rather than focus on the psychical situation in front of her. _Was that the Ymir she knew?_ It was a simple question she asked herself as Reiner busied himself with ripping her shirt off.

There was so much evidence pointing towards Ymir actually doing those things, Krista knew that the woman has a lot of bravado. The throwing down of money in a game that she wasn't present at with the addition of a comment could have been what the blonde man was talking about. Now that she thought about it, it was something that the brunette would have done. But she knew that the intent for Reiner to fuck her wasn't true. We all say and do things to get one above our rivals. There was no way that Ymir would willing let anyone lay with her. Not after Jake. In fact, that was the one thing that demonstrated her dedication after the hell she put the small girl through.

Even after Ymir had sentenced her to being taken by every man she had power over, she did a total 180 spin and stabbed the guy she caught doing it. Krista couldn't imagine that that would have changed now, after the time spent together in the hospital and knowing her motivation behind those horrendous acts made Krista understand her place with Ymir. She got the fact that Ymir once upon a time would have used her as a bargaining chip and that she has to now and again use her name to sweeten a deal but there was no way in hell that she would actually let it go through.

But that was irrelevant, what she said and meant are two different things to the person who hears those words. To them they only know what the deal is and not the true motive. The art of lying is a dying skill but one Ymir was the master of.

The most important part of this, Ymir wasn't here now. No matter what she wouldn't materialise out of nowhere and kill Reiner. This was the inevitable end. The issue with Ymir's bravado is that if a man acted upon her promise and she didn't know about it then she couldn't stop it. Her words indicated that the man was in the right. Actually, there was nothing to stop him because he had the right of way. There was no one to enforce Ymir's hidden agenda because it was just that, hidden to all except her.

The second part, as much as Krista wished to not believe it, sounded more plausible than Ymir being a cocky bastard. Krista had seen Ymir have a losing hand and by some miracle, she won the game. The blonde was aware of Ymir reckless nature. For the most part the mobster takes that into consideration and always has an exit strategy. But she saw what happens when Ymir and Reiner have a game together; the calm and collected head on her shoulder goes downhill and she runs on raw aggression. Krista knew that even Rod could fleece the entire pocket from someone if he got under their skin.

Cool steel wrapped itself around the girl's wrist as cloth left her body. The gorilla was prepared for a fight.

Krista's mind was refusing to comply but she found herself unable to get her body to kick before it was too late. There was a point in the blondes thought process that actually held some hope but it was quickly removed before it could manifest. She was lost to the ages, sold without a paper trail. Ymir didn't have the power to get her back, after all she could only allow the higher ups to believe that she was just a whore, a play thing that kept her fascinated and nothing more. The mob wouldn't waste money on someone like that. Ymir would have to go out of her own pocket to get Krista. If she had nothing, well, then she was doomed.

The girl has been in a dark room all her life, the idea of gaining a window was amazing when Ymir showed her the outside world. Knowing that it could open and escape was possible made the world seem less like something that only passed her by but now it was a 3D traversable land to be explored. Reiner just placed bars on the window and made sure to paint the sky red to block out the sun.

By the time Krista clocked where her body was she was already being strung to the bed. She was centred, enough room for Reiner to position himself in any place around the blonde. She was already bare, a few bruises forming. Krista had been forced against her will before, the sensation of dread was nothing knew but this was psychological warfare. The man had connections to someone she cared for. And in this moment, the person she loved was failing her, before her mind even acknowledged it she corrected herself. _Failed her_. Ymir had already lost grasp on the blonde. There was nothing the brunette could do. This was the consummation of the deal.

Reiner wasn't eager for foreplay, he wanted in and for it to be as painful as possible. Not allowing the blonde to 'warm up' he unsheathed himself before crawling on top of her.

No protection, nothing to reduce the pain. No remorse.

Reiner hadn't even bothered to remove any clothing, expose any weakness. It truly was a business arrangement. Staying in formal attire as the deal went through but Krista doubted shed get a handshake at the end. Her father may as she was carted into the back of a truck next to Ymir's corpse.

Making sure to put as much pressure on her chest the blonde man lay on Krista's chest rather than support his bodyweight. Krista could feel the strain immediately as her ribs were screaming their capacity limit was being threatened. She already had weakened bones from the stairs, now this? The intent was clear. Her restricted breathing meant she couldn't focus on something other than the strain of her life fluttering away from her as well as her dignity.

Reiner's mouth was aligned with Krista's ear. The words that fell from his lips were poison that was meant to destroy any cell it came into contact with. But first make sure it suffered. Uttering words of excruciating detail of how her sister died. Down to the detail of the shade of her blood, the marks on her thighs of where the last man forced her legs apart. How Krista's only hope, only love would be witness to the rape and torture of her form before she was executed.

Bone dry and the heat of forced friction caused the girls tears to erupt from their hiding place. The dryness was soon lubricated with her blood, the rip she never felt as the man tore his way in.

The colour of the muscled man's eyes shifted from their natural state to the embodiment of the devil. Krista wasn't the religious type; a God couldn't exist and allow things like this to happen to a child. If he was the all good and all-knowing god then he shouldn't allow this to happen, or permit for a mobster of all people attempt to get her away. Most of all he wouldn't be so cruel as to allow a girl hope then rip it away in the most disgusting and perverted manner.

The man on top grew bored, resorting to flicking his tongue over her nipple before applying pressure with his teeth in disinterest as the girl wasn't as responsive as he wished her to be.

The art of being dead inside. A youthamism to most people but it was a skill. To appear human and normal to a customer and have something that the world put on a pedestal as being sacred to be so easily desecrated every night without a break. She could fake anything, but the one thing she never truly mastered is being ok with being the girl without a soul. She could only be an illusion and alter her entire person, her history, her accent. Her mood. Her everything just to accommodate to some sick fantasy of the rich male mobster.

The grunts and moaning all originated from Reiner's voice box. She refused to give him the idea that she was under any sort of pleasure. If she made any other noise, then she would be killed but to say nothing at all is also a valid option.

The silence gave her a space to operate. To allow her mind to cut in and out of the situation her body found itself in. She could analyse the birds outside, their calls or their inexistent ones. The sound of nearby vehicles and what sort of stores they tell. The journeys they've been on, the things they've seen. The sort of drivers they've had. All the things a child does when on a long road trip. Anything, something to keep the mind ticking over as the body remains idle.

The click of a door honed her hearing away from Reiner for a split second. She couldn't see the scenario that was about to play out but she could guess what was going to happen. _Ymir?!_.

"Enjoying yourself eh boyo? Now usually I go out and celebrate such a deal, pick up a lass and fuck her till the sun comes up but it appears that I'm skint until that money of yours changes hands. So, I thought you wouldn't mind me making use of my assets whilst they're still mine?"

Krista's heart could beat any harsher against her chest. It couldn't have threatened to burst out from her ribs any more than it did than when her father's voice was introduced into her system. This had never happened before. Sure, she had been with many other men, several people at once. But not her own father. She couldn't think of anything more repulsive but the thoughts of what this could mean was worse. Reiner allowed a sigh out down Krista's ear, sending a chill down her spine before he spoke to Rod. "I guess so. This is all sorts of fucked up though. Didn't realise you were this fucked up Rod."

"Not the first and I'm sure it won't be the last. Gotta make sure the goods you're offering are of high quality"

Krista couldn't see her father's expression. She could only see Reiner's hair and the ceiling. During their brief conversation Reiner didn't let down the constant pounding. He wouldn't allow Krista's arse to raise from the mattresses, making escape from the beating he was giving her impossible.

She attempted to close her eyes and emerge on the other side of things, wake up in the bed alone with no memory of the events that were about to happen. But as much as she willed it to end that way, the men had no intention of allowing that to happen. Her eyes were forced open by Rods hands, so she did what irritated the gorilla the most. She didn't respond.

She just didn't know that playing the 'Harold card' would get her killed too. Just not in the physical way that he ended up going out.

"If she's not bucking likes she's _supposed to_ do, give her a quick nip on the thigh, that gets most girls going. Make sure to not catch the artery otherwise things will get too bloody."

It was more of an instruction rather than advise. The blonde man didn't even miss a beat, he made up his mind even before the sentence was finished. He wanted to have his fun, dance with the bastard that spoke the words but he could see further than Rod. He knew that soon he would be going down. The mob would have him disposed of once they find Ymir's corpse with planted evidence on it, all painting Rod as the murderer.

Reiner snapped his right arm behind him, diving under his jacket and fumbling around with the back of his trousers. Krista could only feel the added pressure moving from her chest to her stomach as the man had to lean back slightly. She could hear the drawing of the large jagged knife from its sheath. She could already feel the sting of it before he even dragged it across her thigh like a violin

The sharp pain intruded her brain, firing all the neurons in control of her muscles. _There was the response he was after._ Everything jerked uncontrollably as the tip of the knife plunged into her flesh as the man did the same with his own. He allowed Krista's motion to drag the knife further along her cream coloured skin, allowing the red to glide along it as if it was a runway. The red carpet for the celebrity to walk on. The pathway to something bigger than herself; It was ironic that it trailed away from Reiner's crotch. The knife was only removed when the trail that it left was becoming worn through, digging a little too deep, allowing a little too much flesh the freedom to move on its own accord.

The spurts of pain from each thrust kept her bucking back allowing the blonde man entry into further parts of her being. Rod was warming himself up at this stage, the member becoming visible in Krista's view allowed her to know when she was supposed to open her mouth but if she as insistent on anything during this interaction it was that her father would not violate her in this manner.

"Look at me Krista dearest, I want to tell you something _very_ important." Rod's hand slapping her cheek accompanied the comment, forcing her eyes to focus away from the other blonde and onto her father.

With eye contact established he broke her spirit in a string of words. Worse than anything Reiner dared to chant. "You look _just_ like your sister from this angle."

And that's when the pain numbed and erupted at the same time. The perfect oxymoron. It only took a nanosecond for the girl's brain to acknowledge what her father said and to give the response it deemed appropriate. The adrenal response showed her heart its full capacity as it flooded every synapse with adrenaline. Her eyes dilated, blown out beyond the effects of the purest form of heroin. So much raw anger, the desire to kill. The body on hyper mode meant that it could only pick one thing to focus on and the sensation of pain was lost to her mind. She could only see the blood of her father and Reiner coating her walls, her bed. She didn't care where the blood was, she just knew that she wanted it to be out of their systems to leave their bodies dead and their minds condemned to hell.

Her mind was numb to pain but her body still experienced trauma, forcing the body to get away from the danger, compelling the muscles to contract. What she didn't realise was the accompaniment of her father's blade in her other thigh. The involuntary contraction of muscle forced the fibres to rub against the edge of the blade, wearing down each fibre before it snapped with the addition of subsequent blood vessels being burst and sputtering their contents out.

Krista's form was being violated in every possible way known to man. She was fighting her own mind as Rod and Reiner supplied it with artillery fire. Her body was producing a mass immune response and adrenal response. Every mechanism there is in the human body to defend it from harm was being forced out of its home and marched to the front line.

The shock of sudden pain when it was all rear numb forced the mouth open, allowing Rod to exploit his daughter for all she was worth.

Amongst all the chaos in the young blondes mind she was screaming for a miracle. It came true in the form of bullets flying.

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 **Authors Note:** Controversial topics will be controversial. I feel the need to put something at the end yet I'm unsure on what to actually put. This is the bottom of the pit so it can only go up from here, right?


	21. Chapter 21 - Can't Wager With No Cards

Ymir knew that something bad was about to occur. She could only hope the damage was reversible and didn't leave a permanent mark. This wasn't the first time she had pondered the thought of what events may precede dropping off the blonde. Most of them ensued a beating before being forced into stress positions over the course of the night. Ymir knew that anything could happen. There was no sign of a deal yet, only mumbles that Ymir told her men to whisper into the ears of the house for them to be played back when Rod honed his ears.

The whole persona of Ymir was male, she lived and breathed like a man. What she forgot about living in a male world is that when a woman is introduced, men do stupid things and it leaves the realm of the punishment of what a man would inflict on another man. When most men have an argument, it turns physical, there's a scrap and maybe a knife but if both parties survive then they've settled their argument. Women on the other hand deal with more psychological warfare than America does on its own people. When a man steps into the ring with a woman. The onslaught of things that could happen range from the tame to the unthinkable. And that was the thing that concerned Ymir the most. She had forgotten the reasons why she conceals her identity. She forgets what men do to women. As soon as that revelation entered her mind it grew like a tumour but she had to ignore the feeling of certain doom for the girl she would love to openly call her girlfriend.

A spur of the moment thing. It only really affects us now and again. A multiple choice question where you have to guess and answer, like placing a X on a ballot paper for your local political, the gut feeling that can't be explained.

The nervous response to a sharp pain, the involuntary response, the reflex arc. Ymir only acknowledged that she was turning the car around when she realised she was driving towards the traffic she monitored from her rear-view mirror only a few seconds ago.

There was no speed limit for the brunette, she allowed her engine to roar to the point where the gyrations of the pistons moving up and down in the engine could be felt from her seat.

Deals can be made if there is an excuse. She knew she could work out a deal with the mob and then Rod. She would come up with a perfectly good excuse to get Krista out of the house. A surprise check up on the drugs leading to her being suspicious of Rods loyalties, forcing him to take the deal to buy him out and secure his ties to the mob alone.

Ymir regretted being in her car at this point. Cars are beautiful things but it doesn't beat the power of being on two wheels pushing 200 mph. The acceleration on a bike is incomparable and the lane splitting makes diving through traffic much more of the adrenaline rush than taking the car off road. Bad ass points are also appreciated.

Irony hit her just as hard as the taxi did. Red light on her side, taxi going through the green legally. The crumple points on Ymir's car saved her life but the other man's car wasn't as well manufactured. The bonnet of Ymir's car was touching the taxi driver's cheek by the time she stumbled out of the car. Glass coated the road surface, reflecting the colour of the traffic lights as they gave out their coloured orders.

There were no other drivers on the road. It was just her and the other man and the cars that were more than likely able to be classed as one single vehicle rather than two. Ymir had lost her sense of balance at this moment in time, allowing her knees to buckle and her arse to hit the ground. She was a killer and not a medic. From the ground, she could only see the man's face and enough blood leaving him as well as the bone that burst out from his cheek and shards of glass as it attempted to bury itself into his left side. Ymir was only grateful for hitting the car on the left side as the driver's seat was on the right. But it wasn't any good for the man sandwiched between Ymir's engine and his door.

Crawling towards the wreckage of the other car in search of a phone as hers was mangled in the glove box, she pulled herself up and opened the taxi door before her eyes recognised she would be searching for a phone on the man's corpse. Ymir knew this was the worst possible situation for her to be in. most of the cops were in the pocket of the mob but this isn't something that can be swept under the rug. There was a wreckage and her car was permanently fused with the other there was no way of getting out of the fact that it was her car that hit the taxi. Her DNA would be everywhere. Crawling through glass must have cut her but the thought escaped her mind; she was too fixated on getting back to the blonde's brothel.

Patting the man down she was victorious in finding a phone. She knew her men were still on route to the Mob's HQ. They were too far away to help her with this issue. If she called them from the phone of the dead victim, then that would place the Mob at the scene of the crime. This was an unsecured number; anyone could access the calls from the device. Ymir started to panic, she had never been in a situation where she had no plan, no support. 999. She knew this would royally fuck her up but the Mob could get the right people to sort this one out, pay off the operator so they wouldn't recognise the voice of the caller. The forensic guys would misplace DNA evidence. Ymir wouldn't be the driver; she would be at home fucking the next-door neighbour. One of her men would be driving and they would conveniently go missing.

Ymir now had multiple things to deal with. She would have to decide how to cover this mess up. Is it best to start framing someone now or later? When to tell the Mob. How to get to Krista without anyone recognising her now that she was restricted by law. Any behaviour that could get her remembered isn't a good thing, she needed to be incognito so her alibi would check out. What incriminating evidence was in the car that couldn't just go missing. Where did she crash, which people are on call at this hour? Does she know them, could she sort this out by herself?

Ymir found herself hiding in a bush overlooking the scene as the emergency services arrived. Stupidity and genius struck the brunette as she saw the unattended ambulance. Paramedics eagerly awaited as the fire service cut the top of the car off. She knew the procedure from here. Paramedics would be back to their ambulance as soon as the lack of vitals was established. Police would be cordoning off the area and the firefighters would be off as soon as they arrived. Ymir knew that if she was spotted by the police then they would chase her down to no end, hotwiring cop cars are also a lot harder, she knew her shit.

Ymir didn't bother starting the ignition at first, allowing the focus of attention to rest of the dead man rather than the ambulance rolling off into the distance as the brunette took the handbrake off allowing the vehicle to steal itself. When just out of sight she started the ignition and away she drove, this was an area she usually left for her driver, someone who was more accustomed to attempting to drive normally when in a stolen vehicle and looking obviously out of place whilst being within. But she thought she had the jest of it. drive with purpose, she knew that the cops from the scene couldn't case after her as they had to man the corpse, so a new dispatch would be hunting her down so she had about five minutes to get the hell out of there.

Ymir pulled the ambulance onto a derelict road where the mob held some drug meets, the whole place was out of sight, perfect for torching the evidence. The tall woman stole the medical supplies she could carry that may come into use if she found Krista beaten again as she was suspecting would happen. After that, she started a bonfire to rival that of a riot and left the second crime scene she made in search of Krista.

As soon as Ymir entered Krista's house she knew where the girl would be, after having time to deliberate on what would happen to the blonde she prepared for a fight during the 5k run from the burning ambulance to Rod's brothel. She still had her gun with her silencer. She could survive without a phone unlike most youth of today however she would be dead without her most trusted friend. She stealthy attached it to the barrel of her pistol as she ascended the stairs.

The door was already open and she saw some of the rooms contents. She saw her Krista on all fours but she only saw of half of the torture she was enduring. She saw Rod violate his daughter and a pair of other hands on the porcelain skin of Krista's hips.

To Ymir the solution to the problem was already being carried out before the transmission from her eyes reached her brain and bounced around a bit. Her non-dominant foot grounded itself in front of her torso with the other finding its place behind, stabilising herself for kickback. Her hands raised themselves keeping a small bend at the elbow. That was all there was to it.

She saw the scene in pure HD, the adrenaline allowing her mind to keep up with the bullet as it left the barrel, spinning at such highspeed. It was almost like a tracer round, Ymir saw that the path it took for the flight was perfect. That's when she had to blink, blurring out the best parts but Krista didn't miss a thing.

Krista still had her father's appendage in her mouth as he forced her to maintain eye contact but Rod couldn't keep it up for long. The bullet found itself penetrating Rods right eye. The spinning motion at high velocity forcing the layer to twist and burst allowing a spurt of black fluid to fall onto Krista's face as the bullet buried further into Rods skull. The bullet was heavier at the tip than at the back causing it to tumble through the air. This bullet wasn't intended to leave a little hole, it was designed to hit on its side causing it to rip and tear through whatever it came into contact with. It was supposed to migrate to a different area. All Krista knew is that Rod had a neat hole where his eye was and then nothing else. As the bullet tumbled it latched onto the strands of brain and unravelled them like a hound tearing into a rabbit. As the lead displaced Rod's brain, it hit the skull and flew out the other side allowing a trailing stream of brain and skull to follow it to its final destination.

Reiner only saw the bullet dig into the wall and a following of pink and white chunks paint and coat the wall. Rod fell straight down as Reiner grabbed Krista by the throat and pulled her to the opposite side of the room for use as a human shield, knife pressing dangerously close to her pulse point. Ymir was in a standoff situation.

She chose her moves carefully as she entered the room, only allowing the barrel of her gun to round the corner.

"I knew you'd come for your plaything Ymir. Seems you're in some sort of a predicament, I have your girl, I've been in her and damn! for a whore she's still tight. So you're little whore is in danger, what you gonna do about it girlie?"

"Reiner I'm gonna fucking kill you. Sweet and simple. Leave the girl outta this, send her to me and I'll come out and well settle this man on man."

"I know you're not a man. Your feeble attempt to gain the power and respect you'll never have is pitiful. You were an innocent young girl once back in AZ, now you're just as fucked up and twisted as your old man. I have all the cards this time Ymir, you can't play the game of you don't have a pair of cards to wager on. Turn around and leave here, never interact with MY Krista and I will spare her life."

Krista would have attempted to deescalate the situation but all she could see was her father's innards slipping down the wall, creating a sacrifice to the gods of tyranny and orphans. She was fatherless. She knew that the man's passing was a blessing but at this moment in time she was stuck in some feudal war between two mobsters who didn't have the best of reputations. She was alone in the world, no one to call her father even if it was by the blood relation which was only visible on the wall. The Mob owned the house, they couldn't buy her away from all this mess, she would have to fend off the men who would aim to use her without Ymir to protect her. No mob deal means no legitimate way for Ymir to take her away, she was doomed to die with her legs spread for a paying customer. Her only option was to leave with Reiner. It would be a life of torture but one in high standing. She wouldn't be forced to live in squalor and fuck any man with enough money, it was just one man. Someone she could force herself to love. There was more possibility, more opportunity for a better life even if it was in slavery.

"Ymir, it's time for you to lose this one. Let me go. We can both get out of this alive and well be happier, even if that happiness is only seen decades in the future." Krista could about choke out the words as Reiner threatened censorship over any word he didn't agree with.

"To hell with that darla. I'm a selfish twat I know but this brute of a bastard will do nothing good to you. This night was only the start of the torture. He's done this sort of shit before, I'm not letting you go through it, especially when you're my fucking girlfriend."

Reiner couldn't help but chuckle at the so-called revelation of Ymir openly admitting she had a relationship with the short blonde. "So you're girlfriends eh? That's fucking adorable, such a shame she's already been claimed by me, tainted by my flesh. You truly picked a keeper there Ymir, falling for another whore."

"Go fuck yourself tough boy. Now I'm gonna end your fucking miserable life, you choose. The easy way, you let Krista go and I allow you the opportunity to fight for your life like the gladiator you seem to perceive yourself as OR the hard way. I turn this corner and shoot you to pieces, torture you till the brink of your last breath then, and only then will I drown you in acid."

"Seems awfully thought out that 'Mir. But you know I can do worse. You can hear your girl get raped if that would please your ears."

Reiner wasn't lying and Krista could already feel Reiner's free hand wandering to her chest where he grabbed a handful of her breast and toyed with it whilst kissing her neck. That's as far as he got before crumpling to the ground. The first shot was to the shoulder connecting his arm to Krista's throat. Second found itself wrestling the knife from his hand as it flailed outwards from the pain of the first impact. The third and final shot took his knee out

As soon as the pressure was released from the blondes throat she ran to Ymir and grabbed onto the back of her jacket before collapsing to the ground herself.

The rage in Ymir's eyes only displayed a fraction of the pain she was feeling and the excitement on making good on her promise to the blonde man. "Look away Krista, I don't want you to see this side of me"


	22. Chapter 22 - Sometimes When You Win

**Authors Note:** Hey Guys! Long-time no see, I'm sorry about the delay, its coming up to that point in the academic year where everyone scuttles off to the corner of a dark room and revises or watches Netflix in panic mode. I'm at the point where, unfortunately, the best thing for the story is to draw it to a close, so after this chapter they may be two more chapters or one really long one then that's it! anyway, hope you enjoy the next chapter.

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Ymir didn't spare Reiner any mercy. She tortured him. The blonde at her feet was too deep into shock to move and the brunette was too full of rage to move her away from the noise that fell from the beatings.

Krista heard it all.

Each tooth being torn from the gum, she could hear the strands being ripped for the tooth and flapping back. She could hear each bone break and the vessels burst. She could hear the blade slide through each layer of skin until it hit bone, she could hear the sound of metal on bone, scraping until it met bone marrow, through the screaming of Reiner. She was more sensitive to the sound than she had ever been. It was as if her mind was compensating for not seeing the brutality and it didn't was to miss out.

By the end of the ordeal she could only feel the odd droplet of either Ymir's or Reiner's blood from when she beat him so hard that Ymir broke her left wrist and blooded both her hand to the point where both of them were coated in red.

Reiner wasn't quite dead yet but every breath he drew was an insult to the mobster. Ymir was regaining her senses by the time Krista crawled up her leg in attempt to remove herself from the room. Even in the thickest part of the woods of red the brunette aided the smaller woman, offering her bloodied hand. The blonde quickly took up the offer without realising that the blood that felt so soothing could be her undoing only days later.

Between the coughs and sputters of blood being expelled from the man's lungs the one noise what ended all others was a chuckle. Something more of a gurgle but Ymir knew what it meant, what it was supposed to do. As the blonde climbed the elongated limb Reiner's eyes were draw to the sections of her that he was privy to, to the parts he cared about most. Tracing where his eyes rested upon, coupled with the smirk and giggle, a loud noise was something that was conclusive. The bringer of silence.

Reiner's grey matter joined his business associates without either of the women blinking. It was a beautiful tragedy, something so sweet and innocence being compelled to not look away, the subconscious forcing the young blonde to witness something so violent and rejoice in its splendour, even if it was only an emotion that would never be acknowledged by her conscious mind. The sight was something common for the brunette but this had more meaning, it was more than just an enemy, it was a rival, someone who was helpless at the end of their game that they were so certain of winning. They were just something to be disposed of when they became a lability.

With Krista stumbling for the door, Ymir quickly slid her gun into the back of her waistband as she slid out of her jacket. Jogging down the stairs to cut the blonde off as she trudged down them. The smile on Ymir's face was uncharacteristic but understandable, she had just eliminated a powerhouse, she could expand her patch and her empire, her rival was dead. She should be on cloud nine but the smile wasn't purely of relief and happiness. It was the smile that you make when suffering, the one that is all too familiar to the greater population.

Stopping the blonde with the hand that held out her jacket her simile faded, becoming something more honest and a true reflection of the neurotransmitters that was overloading her mind. "Put this on amore, when we hit the road well pick something new out, get you out of…" Ymir forgot what she was talking about, reassessing the events that occurred, thinking about the trauma from the blonde's side of things, empathy was something she was never an expert in, it was a skill that was never encouraged in her line of work, if she had such abilities then her life would be as thriving as the two bodies that resided in Krista's room.

Recovering from the lapse in judgement she silenced herself, making her movements non-suggestive and slow, allowing the blondes eyes to keep up and predict her movements. The blonde was far from accepting of the events, she was frozen in time, her body only conducted its basic functions. Find safety, do the usual routine otherwise father would get mad. Ymir could see how the blonde's mind was working, it was like flipping on the faulty auto pilot and Ymir had to make sure that the plane didn't crash and burn.

Emphasising the jacket the blonde eventually lead a shaky hand to collect the item before holding it there, eyes docile and her jaw limp. "I get ya _amore mio_ , how about you follow me downstairs, you put on my jacket and then we see where we go from there?" Ymir attempted to sound in control but now that the adrenaline in her blood was dwindling the cogs in her brain was spinning at deduced the events that would pursue them wouldn't be anything good. Krista didn't respond verbally she just let go of the jacket and allowed her hand to flop to her side before Ymir's hand took it up, surrounding it with hers as she led the woman down the stairs and into the kitchen.

The house wasn't any different physically but knowing that the residence were no longer present gave a darker tint to the place. So many things had happened in this one house, from illegal gambling to murder but the real tragedy was that the one person who remained should never had stepped foot past the doorway. Ymir knew that her plan was elaborate and full of pain but she didn't realise that this would happen. The deal would have gone through and they could have made a clean get away. The deal was doomed, in fact the wrong deal went through. Krista was, by mob law Reiner's and Ymir just murdered the fucker, and her father. If she was to escape she would be on the run for the rest of her life. She had murdered her rival without reason, her side of the mob and Reiner were peaceful, as much as things like that can be. She disturbed the peace and violated every thieves law that existed.

She wouldn't have the mobs backing anymore, she would be a dead woman. Upon the discovery of Reiner's body, fuck even his lack of presence on the illegal scene means that the whole fucking world would be after her and she only got Krista caught up in the mix. There would have been a paper trail of him buying the blonde bombshell and everyone knows that Ymir was a little protective of the woman she slept with, this wasn't the first time she had attempted to save a poor helpless hooker.

Wanna get at the great Ymir? Hurt her woman.

The kitchen sink quickly filled with pale red water as the couple's hands were freed from the blood and memories of the events of the morning. Ymir helped the blonde to rid her hands of the stain that seeped into her skin but the blonde never found them clean enough. The world at that moment just passed the two by. The world was completely silent to their ears, they could interact with their environment and it didn't complain, and that second where they were free was something that they both acknowledged would never be known to them again.

"'Mir I'm aware I have the papers to get me anywhere, do anything but I don't have the ability to leave you. I can see the questions that are racing around your mind, I swear ill answer them but you've got to start asking me them rather than staring at my face whilst a pained one frequents yours." The first words out of Krista's mouth were beyond her years and understanding. Apparently in her silence her brain was creating connections behind the stage. Krista returned to her usual submissive form, wringing out her hands awaiting a response eagerly.

"The only questions aren't for you. I understand why the fight in you was lost a long time before I rescued you from them."

"Ymir, Reiner said you… he said that he knew of your attempt to create a deal with Rod, that it wouldn't happen due to lack of funding. He beat you to the draw, Rod had already sold me and I was lost to the ages."

The taller woman straightened her spine before mirroring the blondes body language, adopting a more submissive tone and allowing her muscles to relax. "Reiner would say that. Reiner had my finances on a wiretap since I met him. I found out about the bug a while ago, decided to move all my finances out of that account and into something more secure, my cover story was me losing it all in a game. I thought he would attempt to, if you ever encountered him again, convince you I was in debt. I assumed you would understand that I never lose a game, you'd be too suspicious to allow him to do anything but I guess I made the decision in my ignorance to the stress of the situation. I'm sorry Darla, I should never have allowed you to be susceptible to such weakness. If you had known I'm sure you wouldn't have given in so easily."

"I wasn't sold?"

"I'd have to check the paper trail, you probably were but I could have altered that. I guess I already have but you know what I mean…"

Krista didn't wait around for the rest of the explanation, she knew the main body of the story now and her memories were catching up with her. Making headway for the downstairs bathroom she didn't bother to close the door before she forced two fingers down her throat. The feeling was all too familiar to her, countless men loved shoving things into her mouth, the sound of gagging created the same effect as humming did, something to enhance the hourly rate.

Like most people the thought of throwing up is just as unpleasant as the action itself but for the blonde it was a gift. Being kept on the edge of such an action was painful, knowing that she had full control over it was comforting and the end result even much so, knowing that her father and Reiner were out of one section of her. Before the contents of her stomach were displayed in the toilet calloused hands collected stray stands of hair, holding them back, adding a reassuring tightness on the back of her head; a reassuring hand. "It's a good job I'm not a sympathetic vomit-er isn't it?" Ymir always found the oddest way to add humour into the world, through her words or her facial expressions that only Krista ever noticed. Krista was stifling a giggle as her throat opened up again allowing her contents to fall from her mouth . "Yeah, wouldn't want to giggle right now or you'd be snorting yourself and that would be far from pleasurable." A playful slap arrived at Ymir's knee before the hand quickly retreated to the bowl of the shorter girl's new best friend.

Stilling, slumping her shoulders forward before allowing her fingers to remove themselves from her mouth. Ymir allowed her free hand to search the room for a clean towel and to start the tap running for the blonde to rinse her mouth out, remove the taste. Krista quickly stood after the sound of running water called her legs to work. Ymir had never seen the woman so primal, wrapping her lips around the tap, filling her mouth before spitting the contents down, holding a hand out expectantly. Ymir was sometimes a slow creature, only understanding the motion for the towel after the blonde spat clean water at her playfully, allowing her smile to flash in front of her eyes before being dispended back into oblivion.

In return for the water Ymir pitched the towel at the blonde's face, landing a successful strike before another torrent of water was flung her way. The taller woman felt sixteen again, having a little bit of fun before she remembered the shit she was in. "'Mir, what's going to happen to us? We can't cover this up by burning the place down, I think we both know that we've essentially signed our own death warrants."

"Depends how willing you are to commit crime to survive. Let's go sit in the front room for a bit, wrap that towel around you, I'll call Harold in a bit with some new clothes, if you agree to my plan."

The blonde was more docile again, following the suggestion whilst searching for the other woman's hand to hold, to keep her steady as she placed one foot in front of the other. They both quickly curled up on the couch as if they were an old couple, it astounded the both of them how quickly they were accustomed to each other. Ymir was more surprised about the amount of forgiveness that had come her way from Krista. With Ymir now spooning the blonde, she managed to pluck the words to explain her plan as calmly as she could, knowing full well that the reaction she could get would be abandonment. "Krista, the only way out of this is pretty fucking drastic. Reiner was a powerful man, and I'm sure he would have had some plan for if he was murdered by his number one rival, that's the sort of bastard he is… was… The plan is I call Harold Mark 2, tell him to come pick me up and bring some clothes that would be tight on me so about right for you, say I got into a bit of a mess or some bullshit, the man had practically been raised to kiss my arse. So… he arrives gives me the clothes and then I kill him. I need to make this look like a bad turn out, like Harold turned up on his own volition and something went down, a third party maybe shot up the place. We need to kill Harold upstairs, get some petrol and torch the place. I know the DNA evidence will identify the people here, and the police will be here within half an hour but it's the best we can do. We need to make this look like a meeting gone bad, if my main man was here that would explain why my car was set alight a couple of miles away, it would make sense to how Reiner got shot and Rod too. Its not the most ideal, I'm aware but it should allow for enough time for the Mobs to have a turf war, figure out who did what, if it was my gang or his. By the time they figure out it was me, I'll already be half way across the Atlantic with you on my arm."

"you want to kill another"

"it's not a want, it's a need. If you want to survive you'll allow me to pull you out of this, even if my hands are stained by the blood of another."

"You don't have your phone."

"Even in this modern world, phone boxes do exist, ill find one."

"Ymir…"

"Krista let me do this for you. I know it sits ill on your conscious but not doing this could get you killed, me, Harold, Reiner, Rod. Fuck, everyone you've ever been with doesn't deserve life. You do."

The blonde didn't really think about the situation or the plan, she already knew she was going to die by a high velocity projectile aimed at her head. She was past the point that the world she exerted force upon was real, it was all a bad dream, a little bit of hell delivered to her limbo, teasing her with the fiery pits she was soon to meet. "there's a phone box about half a mile away, keep running up the street and you'll find it, may need to fight off the local chavs but they scare easily."

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 **Authors Note:** Just a little side note, I'm aware my audience is mainly American, so I don't know if you're familiar with the term CHAVS, council housed and violent. Basically, they're the people who live on estates smoking weed, drunk, and wear track suits all day, every day, with a huge lack in education and vocabulary.


	23. Chapter 23 - They'll Catch You Cheating

**Authors Note: Uploads are unfortunately going to be slow, this is going to be the penultimate chapter so only one more to go!**

 **My final exams are in June so my priorities have been on revision and will be until the end of my exams. I've been writing other stories in the background, hence this story isn't updated as much as some of you would like but there's only next chapter and more content that I'm going to be uploading (if you like me as an author?) Want to thank all of you readers who've read through all the messed up shit and have read each chapter up until now, it means a hell of a lot for you guys to read my rambling, its much appreciated.**

 **Enjoy the chapter, 'till next time.**

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Ymir didn't delay, getting to the phone box in record time, she knew the more time she was off the radar the more suspicious she would look and with the events that had happened with her, the mob would already be wanting to keep her on a tight leash.

The conversation itself was rather uneventful, only giving simple details but she knew Harold wouldn't ask questions beyond his post. By the time Ymir was jogging down back to the brothel Harold was pulling up in another one of Ymir's classic hot rods; it was now or never. "You got here quick Harold! I got a tail on me or what?" Ymir joked probingly, knowing that Harold mark two never understood what was a joke and what was serious. "No tail, I'm just good at driving at illegal speeds." It was an awkward silence that pursued the words whilst the brunette was figuring out the lure to get the man in the house without raising suspicion and how to get him around Krista without the man seeing her state. Ymir mentally cursed herself for not debriefing the blonde in more detail but she knew any more detail would get the woman to run far far away from her bared fangs and comforting arms.

"The blonde informed me of Rod hiding a couple Kilos of product, he's not in at the moment and the blonde has fucked off into town for some condoms or some shit, needed a quick ride out of here, need a hand with the lifting, he's decided to keep them in a fucking bank grade safe." Ymir gestured to the door with an insistent tone in her eye contact. The man only nodded and led the way to the door. The scene was awfully familiar and the feeling in the pit of the taller woman's stomach was like an old friend. Even with every attempt to make herself hate killing, for the blonde, for the feeling of being human to return to her, she couldn't shift the thrill of the hunt even if it was canned hunting.

The door wasn't locked, the route up the stairs was clear of blood, the blonde was in the front room, she knew the outline of the plan. What could go wrong?

The driver passed the threshold and took one step inside before swivelling in a motion that the brunette was all too accustomed too. A gun in the front of the pants is very unconventional amongst her men, the horror stories of no safety and a discharge of a hand gun tended to result in most men refraining from such gangster poses, not Harold mark two. Ymir's mouth set off before Harold's gun. "Paid off BITCH!" Of course, the bastard was quick, he was on a tail but not by the mob. She should have known that if Reiner had inside information about the deal with Krista's father then Reiner would have had to paid off one of her closest men.

Driving and running and other activities usually affect aim, luckily for Ymir, her driver was very unfamiliar with a firearm and driving at such speeds gets the blood pumping. The bullet hit before the brunette heard the shot then the flash followed suit. Left clavicle, glanced the bone, scraping along the bone before taking a chunk out of her shoulder. Subsequent bullets should have killed Ymir if it wasn't for the blonde. She was always the inquisitive type, peeping out of the window to inspect the pair of mobsters. Seeing a bulge uncommon for the men that visited her, without stimulation she grabbed the nearest knife in the kitchen.

The knife wasn't meant for throwing, totally unbalanced and with a lack of strength behind it but the blonde threw it hard enough to catch the man's attention before pulling the trigger again. It would be pure luck if she hit him, let alone with the blade hitting first. The man's eyes were diverted for only a split second but enough time for the brunette to collect her pistol from her waistband and allow lead to fly through the man's eye. It was something of pure gore, with the tip of the bullet having its signature spin, twisting as it forced its way through the lens of the man's eye before winding it up like a coil before venturing into the black ooze that lay underneath it, creating a vacuum as is displaced the fluids position, allowing the eye to buckle under the pressure, as soon as an exit was available the eye became like jelly, sucking in then the outer layer peeling back allowing the black to squirt out alongside the blood from the capillaries before the bullet lodged itself in the man's brain, tunneling like a mechanised mole before fragmenting the skull on the backside of his head, ripping scalp from bone, blood and brain taking the easiest way out, pursuing the bullet into the stairs and coating the floor. There was no need for a set up or a plan now, if Harold was paid off then Reiner's gang would know about the deal, him being called in by the one and only Ymir was like an SOS call after you know of the suicide bomber blowing up the most iconic trade tower in your country.

As the man went limp, never hearing the gun shot, seeing the bullet of even knowing it was drawn, the knife that was once aimed at his head hit handle first in his arm before racing the man to the ground, hitting at the exact time, blade facing up and to be ran home by the mans torso.

The brunettes suppressed sadist was revealed for a slight moment as her lips opened and air rushed out in the sound of laughter. "YMIR YOU'RE BLEEDING!" Krista didn't scream, she was awfully collected for what she had just witnessed. With the laughter snuffed out Ymir was quick to action, being rather nonchalant about the whole situation. Using her foot to roll the man onto his back and she claimed Harold's pocket square and used it to stuff her bleeding shoulder before tutting at the amount of blood as it leaked onto her shirt.

The brunette was obviously in shock or on some emotional shut down. But the blonde knew that this was just the reaction of a human who enjoyed death and destruction and was used to the pain and risk of warfare. "Just a flesh wound amore, I've had worse pain from shitting." Ymir cocked her head and allowed her sadistic expression to mould into a playful grin. Another poor attempt to hide her true emotions, Krista was learning the facial expressions she pulled and their meanings, this one was more practical, giving her reason to grit her teeth to contort a smile rather than an outlet to distract her from the pain of being shot and a good chunk of her shoulder being removed in a non-surgical manner. "Stay here while I see if he brought some clothes for you, you don't have a first aid kit to hand do you?" Ymir was already out of the door by the time she announced what she was doing, Krista could only hear mumbling rather than clear and coherent language but she got the theme of what was being said and it being directed at her after staring blankly at the door as it swung back closed.

The blonde was only left alone for a few minutes whilst she searched the kitchen for a first aid kit but she was already accumulating the withdrawal symptoms from being away from her taller companion. She was far from overly reliant on her, there was an option to turn on her, go to the mob and beg for her life and be put back into the situation she was in but more so alone than before, with people who had no blood connection. Lost in the system of pussy. Over reliant was the wrong word, she placed her hope of freedom in a person, the embodiment of all her dreams of a life much better than any fairy tale she read herself when she was little. "Bastard brought some things for you, you found some stitches or bandages?" The blonde didn't even hear the door go, she was too busy spiralling in the emotional turmoil she found herself falling down. "I've found what you need just don't ask me to patch you up…"

Ymir placed the pile of clothes on the counter-top in front of Krista, exchanging it for the kit before tapping the fabric lightly to draw her attention to the change in her surroundings. "I won't look if you don't want me to." Krista's head snapped to greet the well-acquainted words that were meant to be flirtatious amongst her clients as they always stared as she removed her clothing for them. "Shouldn't you be concentrated on patching yourself up rather than increasing your heart rate."

"Sassy when you're nervous?" Ymir was aware of the uncharacteristic boldness to her words, something she knew was best to address. The situation they would find themselves in later would be more tolling on her emotional state than seeing a small massacre.

"Does it matter?" Krista spat back before correcting her posture, realising she was slipping into a dangerous choice of words with a murderous mobster.

"Yeah, actually. A sassy small blonde is something a person would remember. We need to avoid arousing suspicion, especially the girl who has motive for someone like myself to shoot up the place and cover it up by more bodies to block the entrance." Each pause Ymir took she threaded the needle through her skin, binding parts of her shoulder together through the tension of a thin piece of string pulling on the thinnest parts of her epidermis.

"A hot rod goes against your idea of incognito, don't you think? What's the plan Ymir?"

"Them knowing where I am isn't too bad… well, before they figure out I may have committed the mass murder of their men, collapsing trade deals with most fractions the mafia deals with… before then, them knowing where I am isn't too big a deal." The brunette paused for a second as she finished off the stitching, beckoning the other woman over with her free hand. "Grab that pad of fabric there and apply some pressure whilst I tape it to my shoulder if that's alright with you Darla?" The blonde only nodded in agreement as she threw on the over shirt she found in the pile, her silence wanting the plan to be explained in more detail.

The pressure from the blonde's hands was warmly welcomed, something to ground Ymir, a pinch to make sure this isn't some awful nightmare. She didn't wake up. "America, my old man is still in a good position over there. There's a routine flight of the mobs that ventures back and forth from his district, usually carrying guns and has a good amount of people around it but recently Reiner caught wind and has been assaulting the place so they changed its cargo from weapons to weed. Less men, small plane. If we get there before the mob wants me dead then I should be able to pay him off to take us too, even if they did decide to shoot at me I'm sure a pilot wouldn't mind a hot sexy woman aboard to keep his lap warm, and in the best-case scenario I should know the man in the cockpit."

"How routine is routine?"

"Midnight. Everyday."

"The mob gets through weed quick enough…"

"We've got about 5 planes a day in different places. The British public can't get enough of the stuff."

With Krista clothed and Ymir patched up, the couple fumbled around the kitchen one last time, finding something flammable to create one of the biggest bonfires local history has seen.

Everything was soaked by the time they finished every bottle they found, catering for men who liked women and gambling usually meant they had a high alcohol tolerance so the stuff was in abundance. With each bottle found, Ymir read each label, and with every different bottle nearly emptied she allowed her tongue to taste a drop, allowing the sensation burn into her memory 'the taste of the world's most popular drug.'

Working from the back rooms to the door way with the last dousing the brunette paused, gesturing towards Krista if she wanted a swig before another big risk. Even though the glass bottle didn't house much content it was heavier than any other human built material, it was equal weight of conscience. People always told the blonde that she would drown in her sorrows with heavy alcohol, now that she was at the cross roads she couldn't even wet her tongue with the damned substance.

The light ting generated by the flipping of Ymir's trusty lighter brought Krista back into the situation in front of her rather than remembering all the reasons why she should down the drink in her hand. "One minute Ymir, let me seal this wound of mine." Words of almost sadness rose from the alcohol and bounced around the dying walls of the room before reaching the mobster's ear, commanding the lid to extinguish the threat of heated destruction.

The blonde was already small and light weight, with the silence of the room her footsteps into it should have been easy to hear but they were muffled by the accelerant. Reaching to grab her discarded clothes she stuffed the soaked rags of her underwear into the bottle, allowing the top to poke out. Dragging her feet behind her she reached her lover who understood the twisted sentiment in her actions to follow, simply handing her the closed lighter before descending her lips upon the others forehead.

A shaky hand wrapped itself around the lighter, trembling not out of fear, but out of an unexplained emotion. Adrenaline had its part to play but there was something deep within the blonde that knew that this was more than putting one foot in front of the other in her journey to freedom, she was eradicating her father's body from existence, wiping out another place that was her cage. This little bird couldn't return to the nest after this, for she has burnt down the forest. Only to live in the mouth of the crocodile, living symbiotically to the view of others but the blossoming feeling of love in their hearts.

The lid released its flame, drinking up the oxygen as its tender touch met with memories of rape. Soon after the blonde threw the glass as far as she could, allowing it to hit the stairs she was thrown down. The bottle did as she did when she collided with the stairs.

It broke, spewing flames into the house.


	24. Chapter 24 - You Lose

**Authors Note:** The end is finally here... Thank you to all of you that have read this fucked up story, as promised now my exams are done i wrote this as fast as i could for you guys.

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The amber glow on the back of the blonde's hair was enthrallingly captivating almost to the degree of distraction as the other woman's eyes glanced from the road to her partner. Ymir was already blasting down the road at 100mph and wasn't even in top gear yet, the power of the hot rod was more than Krista could comprehend. There was obviously more modifications to the engine than men she'd been forced to sleep with. "Aren't you a little worried about the speed, its rather obvious that we caused that giant inferno down the road with us going 5 times over the speed limit?" A small smirk collected on the side on Ymir's face that the blonde could see. Ymir shifted her right hand from the ten two position to the bottom of the vintage wheel as if on a casual road trip rather than evading the law, the outlaws, and the clock with death right by all of their sides. "Me? Worried? Haha, it's all under control Darla. There are no speed cameras on the route I'm taking and the quicker we're away from the scene the less cops we will encounter. The fire service will arrive first but I think they'll be a little more concerned with the huge fucking fire than a classic hot rod looking like its racing." A reassuring hand landed on the shorter woman's knee before removing itself to caress the gearstick, tapping in time with the tune that Ymir was humming.

As if on que a fleet of fire trucks whizzed past the couple, emphasising the Doppler effect to the pair before they were out of sight and Ymir was on a different road. "'Mir? Are we going to survive this or do you intend to plough this car into a river or wall to give us a quick death?" The blonde was fighting within herself if the latter was a better option for the both of them. They both knew as soon as things got… heated… that some sort of miracle in an atheists' world would have to occur.

"Marry me once this is over?" The brunette almost stumbled over her words as they were so rushed but their urgency didn't come across as forced. These words were rehearsed and primed for delivery. Krista had been propositioned before, many times in fact, but this stringing of sounds from this particular gangster meant more to the blonde than any chance of freedom ever could mean. Her father always told her that marriage was just another form of slavery but that was only if you married a man like him.

"I can't tell if you're being serious, if you're going to make the end quick if I say yes. You're not digging yourself out of the grave we've dug for ourselves."

"A couple's grave if you say yes." Ymir was quicker to her reply than the car was to 200mph. The blonde couldn't help but give a smile at the goofy thing that the mobster was. For someone who held a gun better than themselves their cold grip and stupidity were almost equal. "I'll give you my answer when were away from all this nonsense." Ymir only grunted in response as the jerk from an uncalled for shift in gears jumped the car and caused it to accelerate unpredictably.

The sharp change in momentum caused the blonde's head to hit the leather behind her with some force before shards of glass passed her eyes in slow motion, allowing each fragment to be seen as they hit the screen in front of her before that shattered too. "Motherfucker!" Ymir reached for her gun before slowing the car down to take a sharp right. "Babe, they've found me a little too early so could you be a darl and shoot back at them?" The question was so relaxed and comically un urgent, the woman almost seemed more pissed about the cost of replacing the windows rather than her life being threatened.

Before the blonde knew it her hand was tenderly wrapped around Ymir's handgun and she was feeling the full kickback from the heavily modified weapon. "Hey Ymir? You got any pointers about where to aim?" They sounded like an old married couple arguing about finding spare chairs for the family at Christmas.

"Fucking anywhere!" The urgency returned to the mobster's voice as the next hail of bullets sped past their heads a little too close for comfort, if there were degrees of being shot at.

Shift gear, turn a corner, tires screaming for reprieve, Krista returning fire, hail of bullets lodging themselves in the metal work of the car, repeat. It was the third round of the loop of events before the sound of an empty magazine raced down the blonde's ears. Ymir was already to hand, opening the glove box and pulling out numerous magazines and throwing them at her partner before 'calmly' explaining how to reload.

The roads were empty but the sound of more vehicles resonated against the heavily built up buildings alerting the brunette of further company. Motorbikes were next and her inexperienced shooter had made no dent with the several cars up her arse. "Babe? Can you drive for a second, were about to get on this straight part so just put your foot on the left peddle and keep it there?" The shorter woman didn't have enough time to object before the other was already invading her seat and placing her hand over the gun, holding the wheel steady with the other. Krista threw herself into the driver's seat as quickly as she could before the shooting started again. The bikers were closing in on them but Ymir with her dead eye had already taken out one of them, shooting out of the back window to avoid the barrage of lead they threw.

"I'll be back in a min babe, just keep the car as steady as you can amore. Can you do that for me? Good!" The gambler didn't wait for a response, she simply did what she did best and took a reckless wager. Immediately after the routine bullet armada the brunette opened the door and readied herself. Grounding one foot in the car and the other on the door she stood up, balancing her centre of gravity between the open door and the seat. Her form perfect, Krista couldn't resist catching a glance. She was only outside for the matter of seconds. The bikes approached the front perusing car as Ymir took aim, taking out the driver of the car then the front wheel in quick succession. The bullet should have caused more damage to the tire but the mob's pursuit cars were designed to take damage. As soon as the metal made its signature hole the vehicle quickly compensated for the change in weight distribution. With the increasing speed from Krista any sudden change in motion would flip a car, especially a car undergoing a sharp change in tire pressure.

The car visibly tilted to the damaged wheel, with the driver unable to steer or make any manoeuvres from Hell the car easily rolled bonnet first. The debris from the car on its second revolution slammed into the biker posse before the main body crushed the riders along with their engines. With the shooter satisfied with the bodies and destruction she left behind her she quickly re-joined her lover inside the hot rod. "Thanks Darla, I'll take the wheel back now." Ymir stated as she combed back her hair and reloaded the handgun.

"Ymir, how the hell can you do that with no issue?!" The blonde was well aware that the woman next to her was trained to kill, she had been first hand witness to her immorality but the pride she saw in her partner's eyes was something only the devil could display. "Dog eat dog world, you've got to remember you're the sole rabbit in a world riddled with famine and the rest of us are wolves."

"Nice analogy but they're not after me Ymir, they're after you." Krista retorted as the calloused hands of the gangster fell on top of hers as they exchanged seats.

"You think that if they catch us they'll just let you go? I'll face death but you my dear will be worse off if you allow them to place a hand around your neck. You have more to lose here, at this very moment you have freedom and documents that will allow you to travel to all corners of the world with no financial impediment. If you don't get on that plane you might as well go back to square one, then take five steps back. The Mob doesn't treat their working girls with the kindness your father gave you if you can believe that possible." With the self-proclaimed wolf in the driver's seat the blonde noticed the signs for the airport became more frequent with the sharp turns and gear changes becoming just as repetitive. There were no pursuers for the time being, just the passing street lamps and shards of glass sliding along the dashboard.

The good company, or lack of further company at all, didn't last very long. Driving through the gated back entrance to the runway there was every type of vehicle at the Mob's disposal. Krista was aware that the plane wouldn't leave any earlier due to the collection point in the states was routinely searched by the police beforehand, a little deal with the local law enforcement to make it seem that their noses are clean even though half the force was snorting the harder products the mafia were importing.

Before Krista could comprehend the direction she was moving she was lodged in the footwell, only witnessing Ymir's hand retracting back to take up the steering wheel. "Keep your head down and grab the gun under the seat. It's automatic so only short bursts of bullets. If someone is at the window lean your torso against something, it's got some kick back but it's just the same as before okay my love?" The blonde nodded whilst her pupils dilated as she pulled out a gold-plated Uzi. "I have expensive tastes if you couldn't tell." Ymir chipped in as she stretched her fingers before gripping the steering wheel as if attempting to choke the life out of it.

The runway was far from abandoned with several planes lined up to land and one which was just about to touch down as well as the flurry of cars and bikes that didn't help for attempting to make it to the plane in one piece as well as keeping the aircraft fully functioning for a quick take off. Glancing at her watch the brunette allowed a curse to fall from her lips.

Fifteen minutes.

Entering the main runway, she could hear how close the plane was above her but this was her best opportunity of getting the old rod as close to the plane door as possible. The plane above her was the limiting factor as to how fast she could advance but it would act as her barrier for the ranks of armoured vehicles marching towards her.

Only a small collection of faster vehicles attempted to meet Ymir before the plane landed in front of her, mainly motorbikes again but with more heavily armed passengers followed by two trucks with mounted weapons. The woman behind the wheel could tell that the men riding towards her wouldn't have to worry about wasting ammunition on disabling her car but she knew that every one of the men she once commanded would take great pleasure in ending this quickly with a short-burst spray of bullets to the no longer present windshield.

As soon as her eyes detected the flash of light she already knew the bullet must have just missed her. Crumpling her form to meet the blonde in the footwell she allowed her body weight to press on the accelerator, only risking her non-dominant hand to shift the gear stick as she operated the clutch with her other. After the first couple of bullets hit the empty leather seats the armed men quickly changed targets to the engine knowing it wouldn't hold out after the first dousing of lead it received earlier.

The engine didn't last longer than expected allowing the car to roll forward at the high speed the brunette managed to convince it to charge into Death Valley at. The whole scene was a mechanical reconstruction of the poem 'Charge of the Light Brigade'. With the hot rod's engine silenced the rolling of the wheels became more apparent as well as the sound of metal spinning at high speed against the innerworkings of the car and the sloshing sound of the oil and petrol flowing around the front compartment. Amongst the symphony of metallic death the roar of the jet engines above them grew closer to the ground and the power supply syphoned off in preparation of immediate landing.

Applying the breaks ever so gently Ymir allowed her ears to be her eyes for the time being, keeping the sound of the plane just in front of her. Even with all the commotion time hadn't advanced as much as the blonde thought with the harsh noise of the motor bikes accelerating to remove their riders away from the landing path of the hunk of metal about to crush them. The trucks weren't as able.

The sound was from a big movie oil disaster film, with the support struts collapsing on in each other before meeting the depths of the ocean. Ymir's head was first to pop up before the blonde attempted to follow only to find her head being pushed down again. One of the rear tires hit the back of the second truck causing it to jump onto its wing, grinding it down before the strain snapped the aluminium. The nose hit the runway before the velocity forced the plane to tilt bringing the rear wheels off the ground and crushing the front back into its retractor compartment. Random panels of metal were flung from the wreckage in hunt of the bikers but also the female mobster's head.

A stray sheet managed to find its way under the car's front tire, shredding the rubber and like the car Ymir shot at, the classic hot rod became airborne. With both women being out of their seats their seatbelt was far from around their persons causing the taller of the two to hit the roof and the other being ejected from the car as it begun to roll.

Krista had learnt to allow her body to become a rag doll upon several past experiences, any resistance would cause more damage to her fragile form, Ymir on the other hand propped herself up in the car, using her arms and legs as shock pads as the car went tail over nose before grinding to a halt on the roof.

The brunette allowed her arms to collapse from under her causing her body to not so gracefully land in a bundle on the roof of the car before surveying the area. With the sceptical 'all clear' Ymir crawled out of the windshield taking great care to scrape up the stray shards of glass for a small collection located in her pockets.

Although the mobster couldn't see where her blonde companion was she could hear the bullets she was shooting. The characteristics of an inexperienced shooter littered the blockade of street cars, lead drilling into the plastic and bouncing off the newly joined armoured van. Time was far from on their side. With the sight of a lone van meant it was on quick response and it would be one of many. Ymir could only pray they made it to take off time before the rest of the fleet arrived.

As the men were forced to cower, both women advanced but only the taller one was cautious on the approach. One foot in front of the other felt like walking in water to the blonde as the recoil of the gun was fighting her every movement and threatening to kick her in the face. It was a deadly game of whack a mole. As soon as a man popped up from behind a vehicle the blonde would spray a small burst of high velocity metal at their heads, and the ones who were hiding from the reaper would only encounter the brunettes pistol instead.

Aware of the limited rounds Krista would have remaining the other woman picked up her pace, entering the trenches of shot out vehicles and murdering as she went.

 _Click click_ , an empty magazine and the roaches were out to play. A hail storm of full metal jackets were launched and Krista hit the deck. The sound of bullets hitting concrete was quickly replaced with two short cracks and the voice of a lover cried out. "RUN FOR THE DOOR"

There was something more than the chaotic madness in the background to the scene Krista found herself in as she scrambled to her feet as she heard the feeble sound of return fire. Her thighs burnt and this time with wasn't for the friction of a man's presence. One foot in front of the other, another body falling straight down, another bullet lodging itself in-between the eyes of henchmen.

The ping of metal on metal, the heavy silences of mutual reload. The chanting of death never being too quiet. These men were plagued by Stormtrooper inaccuracy but stray rounds did make contact with the gambling woman who was still helplessly attempting to clear a pathway for her blonde lover. The blood on her suit was testament to her conquest. The blood that was once dry, the blood of her now dead enemies was quickly being invaded by her own.

Krista was at the stairs, her pathway to freedom blocked only by the absence of a murderer.

Two minutes.

The blonde didn't know where to put her eyes, to look forward into the plane and tempt herself to enter without her partner or to look back, to stare into abyss and hope that her devil emerged.

Ymir knew when she was on her last bullet and so did her now depleted enemy. Weapons of all kinds littered the ground around her but to reach down would only offer her back to a demon with intent to latch on.

The gamble was a raise more weighted than an 'all-in' call to a woman with no voice. She dived head first to the closest cover, aiming and firing her last chance into the heart of the penultimate man. The creation of a corpse, the last man alive pivoting to reap reward for a fallen comrade's life. Krista aligned with the sights, trigger finger already closing in on an easy kill.

Why bring a knife to a gun fight? People always asked Ymir that but the answer was always the same. 'Its flashy as fuck.'

A perfectly weighted blade found itself severing all motor skills of the man it deemed its enemy. Ymir's head popped out from behind a car with a smirk on her lips and relief in her eyes. "Time to go Darla." Ymir was already jogging towards the door, ushering Krista onwards whilst pondering whether to collect her blade of not.

Krista was waiting with the door held open only for her lover to slam the door closed, launching her backwards into the aircraft. "Baby you've got to trust me this is for the best. Live for yourself, do all the things you've wanted to do. I love…"

Krista had failed to notice the hordes of armoured vehicles enter the runway from behind them, or the men armed with high velocity scoped rifled on top of the control tower opposite the doorway.

Bullets are interesting things. They can be designed to pierce armoured vehicles, they can be designed to tumble through the air and blow sections of flesh from its victim, they can be designed to give little holes to control or immobilise the enemy.

The bullet fired at Ymir's head was designed to have its flight from the barrel of the gun traced. A tracer round. Ymir was ushering her girlfriend through the door, only to hopelessly push her in and slam the damned door behind her.

Krista only had enough time to scramble to her feet and turn around to catch the sight of a gold ring then a crashing wave of crimson liquid.

Ymir's body was left on the concrete as Krista lay on the floor of the plane as it took off, hoping to be closer to her lover just for a minute more. All she had was freedom with no one to share it with and it took the form of a blood-stained passport in the hooker name her father gave her. The love of her life never knew that Historia was her real name, the name that accompanied her innocence.

 **Sometimes when you win, you lose.**


End file.
